Normally you can’t determine who won a trade for a few years, but a lot of New York Jets fans are looking back at last year’s blockbuster trade for Jamal Adams and smiling.
On the same day that the Jets reported to their mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, June 15 with head coach Robert Saleh an interesting news nugget came across the timeline.
It was reported that Seattle Seahawks star Jamal Adams isn’t expected to participate in mandatory minicamp amidst a contract squabble. He has also skipped all of the voluntary workouts and organized activities to this point in the offseason.
While on the Jets’ side of things they had 100 percent attendance from their entire roster.
General manager Joe Douglas hit the eject button on the Adams situation last offseason for a blockbuster package that featured two first-rounders in 2021 and 2022 and a 2021 third.
Adams originally wanted a long-term extension that would make him not only the highest-paid safety but one of the highest-paid defenders in the league. Then an apparent rift was created when Douglas took some calls at the trade deadline and that irked Adams.
Some will say that Adams shot his way out of town with the Jets, but upon further review, the Seahawks just provided the perfect answer to a complicated question.
Now it’s Seattle’s problem.
Good Luck With All of That
The Jets in 2021 don’t have to deal with any contract drama nor do they have to deal with a player holding out.
While it appears Adams’ holdout isn’t entirely due to his contract, the Seahawks shared he is dealing with a “personal matter”, the point remains.
Adams is looking for franchise-altering money and the Jets weren’t willing to pay it.
Will Seattle make Jamal Adams the highest-paid safety in the NFL? 💰👀
Justin Simmons of the Denver Broncos is making $15.25 million in 2021, the highest salary of any safety in the NFL. If that’s the ceiling and Adams “is looking to blow the roof off” you can only imagine how much more that’ll cost.
The former All-Pro has all the leverage. Seattle already traded a bunch of assets to acquire him. Adams and his representation could argue he’s more than a safety based on his single-season sack record from 2020 and advanced analytics showing all the different positions he’s lined up at (cornerback, defensive line, slot, etc).
Although for Jets fans and their front office, that isn’t their problem anymore.
Instead of investing a large portion of the salary cap at a non-premium position to a potential problem child, they were able to divert those funds to other areas.
Jets Dodged a Major Bullet
There’s no other way to slice it, the Jets dodged a major bullet by trading Adams away when they did.
There were a lot of questions raised about whether or not the Jets should invest that much money at safety.
Which then begged the question, why did you ever draft a safety No. 6 overall if you thought it was a non-premium position that you’d later be unsure whether or not you would be willing to invest serious money into it if it worked out?
Nonetheless Gang Green got to get out of that puzzle and create a new reality starting this past April.
Part of that record haul was cashed in during the 2021 NFL draft when the Jets moved up for USC offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker. The Jets also still have Seattle’s first-rounder next year in their back pockets as part of the original trade package.
On top of reinvesting the picks into a major position of need that’ll directly impact the quarterback position, they also saved a bunch of money in the process.
Have the Jets already won the Jamal Adams trade? Reach us anytime on Facebook @HeavyOnJets, or Twitter @BoyGreen25 and @obermuller_nyj.
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Jets Dodged a Bullet With the Jamal Adams Blockbuster Trade