Getty Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams appeared to throw major shade at his former team on Twitter on November 23.
The holiday season is quickly approaching, but it doesn’t appear safety Jamal Adams and the New York Jets will be exchanging cards or greetings anytime soon.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on the morning of November 23 that the Jets are benching quarterback Zach Wilson. Shortly thereafter, Jets head coach Robert Saleh announced Mike White would start behind center in Week 12.
Breaking: During a team meeting minutes ago, Jets players were informed that Zach Wilson is not starting Sunday’s game vs. the Chicago Bears, sources tell ESPN.
Wilson — who had a 5-2 record as a starting QB this season, with both losses coming vs. the Pats — is being benched.
#Jets coach Robert Saleh announces that Mike White will start on Sunday. Zach Wilson officially benched.
About a half hour after that breaking news, Adams posted an interesting GIF.
Without a caption, it’s unclear if Adams is 100% addressing Wilson and the Jets quarterback situation with the GIF, but the timing of the post is obviously suspicious.
No Love Loss Between Adams & Jets?
Adams was a player on the cusp of superstardom towards the end of his rookie contract. The Jets drafted him sixth overall in the 2017 draft, and he lived up to that billing, becoming an All Pro during his third season.
But things reportedly grew tense for Adams and the Jets in contract negotiations. The situation ended with Adams requesting a trade.
The Jets-Jamal Adams situation continues to deteriorate. Adams informed the team he wants to be traded, a source tells ESPN. #Jets
So, New York shipped him to the Seattle Seahawks with a 2022 Day 3 choice for three draft picks, including two first-rounders, and safety Bradley McDougald.
Prior to facing his former team for the first time since the trade in Week 14 of 2020, Adams explained that he didn’t hold any ill-will towards the Jets or then team head coach Adam Gase.
It’s not exactly clear whether Adams felt the same way about his former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. After getting traded to Seattle, Williams told the media he thought Adams would get “bored” playing in the Seahawks defensive scheme.
Adams fired back, saying “I don’t think I’m gonna get bored winning.”
As expected, the trade request and that response didn’t sit well with Jets fans. It’s possible Adams’ GIF was as much a shot at the Jets fanbase, who have exhaustively tried to argue that their team “won” the Adams trade, as it was at Wilson or the Jets.
Adams Throws Shade at Jets Benching Wilson
The Jets drafted Wilson even higher than Adams at No. 2 overall in the 2021 draft. But based on how he’s been playing, it’s still not much of a surprise that the Jets elected to try another quarterback.
While Wilson is 5-2 as a starter this season, he has completed only 55.6% of his passes for 6.8 yards per pass. He also has more interceptions (5) than touchdown passes (4).
In Week 11 against the New England Patriots, Wilson went 9-for-22 with 77 passing yards and 4 sacks. The Jets offense amassed just 2 yards in the second half and lost, 10-3, because the Patriots returned a punt for a touchdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
Making matters worse, when asked during his postgame interview if he let his defense down by his performance, Wilson responded, “No.”
As much as his performance hurt, that answer also led to his benching.
Zach Wilson saying “No” to a question about whether or not he let the defense down after only scoring 3 points and throwing for 77 yards was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The Jets sit at 6-4 entering Week 12 but that technically puts them in last place in the very competitive AFC East.
The Seahawks are also 6-4 and lost their most recent game, but the vibes around the team are much better than the Jets at the moment. The Seahawks sit in a tie for first place in the NFC West.
Too bad the Seahawks and Jets aren’t scheduled to play again until the 2024 season. With Adams’ Twitter shade, a more immediate upcoming matchup might be quite entertaining.