How the Jets, Jamal Adams backed themselves into separate corners

Even in these times of great uncertainty, there is comfort in knowing the New York Jets can be counted on to potentially screw up a good thing.

The Jets' best player, safety Jamal Adams, wants a new contract. With the Jets apparently unwilling to offer him a new deal anytime soon, Adams now wants a trade. His camp even floated a list of seven potential suitors, and it wasn't hard to notice that all are possible Super Bowl contenders. The Jets are not Super Bowl contenders.

At the same time, the Jets reportedly aren't willing to allow Adams' agent to seek a trade. That sets up the possibility of a protracted standoff with no easy solution. Let's look at some scenarios, and bear with me because it gets a bit unwieldy:

• Adams is clearly disgruntled. He's not shy about voicing his displeasure on Twitter and Instagram, even at the risk of alienating himself from Jets fans (and heaven knows they've been through enough). If the Jets hold firm, knowing they control Adams' rights for two more seasons plus the possibility of the franchise tag in 2022, the situation could continue to devolve. Adams could hold out, though the Jets could fine him, and he'd risk losing a year of service time toward free agency under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement. He also could continue to be a nuisance. How much would the Jets be willing to put up with?

• The Jets could give Adams the extension he wants, depending on whether the asking price resets the market for safeties (roughly $15 million per year) or makes Adams the team's highest-paid player (more than $17 million per year). This could be seen as a sign the Jets are willing to pay to keep their homegrown talent, which is something they haven't done much of in the last 10 years. Even defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, whose second contract is often cited as a mistake, wasn't extended until the end of his fifth season. The other big-money deals the franchise handed out in the last decade all went to outside free agents.

• But what if Adams' dissatisfaction is about more than money? "I'm sick of losing," he once told reporters after a loss. "Enough is enough." That was in November 2018. The Jets have done a lot more losing since; their record with Jamal Adams is 16-32. That's also their record since they tanked in an attempt to rebuild.

• The Jets could trade Adams, which could be viewed as caving to Adams' demands, and NFL teams hate setting precedents like that. But what if they get a solid return? General manager Joe Douglas has only been on the job for 12 months, and he's taking a measured approach to fixing the roster. Reports have varied about what a potential deal could look like, but if Douglas were to get, say, a first- and a third-rounder, or a first and a receiver like Michael Gallup of the Dallas Cowboys? Deals like that would bring in some genuine asset accumulation, if not also some help for quarterback Sam Darnold, who's heading into Year 3. Again, the Jets are 16-32 with Jamal Adams.

• The Jets stand their ground, call Adams' bluff, and he dutifully reports for camp and performs well as he plays out the season. The two sides then take another look at doing a deal after 2020.

There are additional complicating factors because nothing with the Jets is ever simple. Adams was openly frustrated to learn last fall that the Jets had been shopping him despite personal assurances to the contrary; Douglas denied that he had been shopping Adams, but trade talks did happen.

Adding to this I was told despite offering a 1st and a third day pick, At the end of the day I don't think they really wanted to let him go."

But now he knows Jets thought he was worth a 1 and 2 second rounders https://t.co/Nt4wfeJtx3

- Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) October 29, 2019

Then, at the combine, Douglas said in no uncertain terms that he wanted to make Adams a "Jet for life." On the eve of the draft, Douglas referred to Adams as a "core player" and said he wanted to "surround him with like-minded players." Around that time, Douglas also said that contract talks with the safety would pick up after the draft. Adams could rightly point to all of this and expect a solid offer.

Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

There have been talks, but Douglas has made it clear he'd prefer to wait until after the 2020 season to get a deal done, reports The Athletic's Connor Hughes. This appears to be the crux of the issue. Over The Cap's Jason Fitzgerald found that just 17 first-round picks since 2011 have received contract extensions after their third seasons, including only five defenders - and none since 2015. "If this is going to be your policy," Fitzgerald wrote, "you cannot say the things you said between last year's trade deadline and this year's combine."

In addition, the murkiness surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult to forecast next year's salary cap. But free agency happened in mid-March, right around when pandemic-related lockdowns began all over the country. None of that stopped NFL teams from filling the holes in their rosters.

The Jets backed themselves into this corner, and Adams has undoubtedly made the situation more difficult for them. One school of thought suggests Douglas is right to avoid overspending on players in ways his predecessors have done in the past. But this ignores the reality that the Jets have been the worst-drafting team in the NFL since 2010, according to Football Outsiders.

This year's draft was Douglas' first, so that futility isn't on him. But head coach Adam Gase has a documented history of alienating veteran players that dates back to his time with the Miami Dolphins. And now the Jets' best draft pick since Darrelle Revis is disaffected.

Joe Douglas was hired to get the Jets on track, and the next step is to find the best solution to the Jamal Adams mess - whatever that may be. The GM hasn't yet earned any benefit of the doubt, and he's still got a long way to go. It's been 10 years of crap like this for the Jets. Until further notice, they remain right where they've always been.

Dom Cosentino is a senior features writer at theScore.

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