New York Jets are in ‘no rush’ to extend safety Jamal Adams

It appears the New York Jets are in ‘no rush’  to extend their star safety, Jamal Adams. Here are all the details and what it all means.

For all the New York Jets fans hoping the team signs 1st team All-Pro safety Jamal Adams as soon as possible, don’t hold your breath.

Adams and the rest of the 2017 NFL Draft class are now eligible to negotiate a new deal per the current CBA, but the green and white appear to be in “no rush” to get a long-term deal done.

Connor Hughes of The Athletic appeared on SNY’s Geico Sports Nite and shared some interesting thoughts on the Jets’ apparent gameplan this offseason:

“I don’t think the New York Jets are in a rush to get this done and for good reason. They don’t have to pay Jamal Adams right now. It isn’t something that needs to be done. Will he hold out of OTAs, minicamp, and training camp? That might be something that happens and Jamal Adams will have to speak with his representation to see if that’s the right negotiating tactic.

But the Jets control him in terms of he’s still on the final year of his rookie deal that fifth-year option. They could franchise tag him one year, they could franchise tag him another year, I don’t think it gets to that point but there’s no immediate rush to get this done.”

The Chicago Bears earlier this week decided to sign their safety Eddie Jackson (who is also from the 2017 NFL Draft) to a massive extension that reset the safety market. It appears the Jets are going to play the waiting game.

There appear to be a few reasons for this strategy.

As Connor indicates the Jets have control of him in 2020 thanks to his fifth-year option, they could also franchise tag him (technically they could tag him for three additional years after his fifth-year option if they wanted to, it would be costly though).

The other reason the Jets don’t want to act too fast is that they don’t want another Odell Beckham Jr situation.

In August of 2018, the New York Giants handed OBJ a massive five-year extension that was worth $95 million with a total of $65 million in guarantees. In essence, the Giants were committing to their star for the foreseeable future.

A few months later Big Blue walked back on that commitment and traded their star wideout to the Cleveland Browns in March of 2019.

That decision threw the Giants into salary cap hell because they decided to sign OBJ before they had to and got cold feet after he signed the deal.

The New York Jets have to think long and hard about this decision. Whichever way they decide to go they must have conviction about their decision.

If they decide they want to build around Jamal Adams for 2020 and the future, then they should sign him and make him the highest-paid safety in all of football.

If they’re unsure of handing around 10 percent of the salary cap to a safety on a brand new deal, then trade him for a bounty of assets that can accelerate your rebuild.

Connor Hughes would go on to say in his report that the Jets will take the next several days and weeks to decide which direction they want this franchise to go in terms of Jamal Adams’ future.