NY Jets: Jamal Adams went from franchise savior to scorned outcast

NY Jets’ safety Jamal Adams has gone from the franchise’s savior to a complete outcast.

Jamal Adams was supposed to be the NY Jets‘ savior. He was supposed to be the player to lead the organization out of the depths of despair that they had inhabited for far too long. He was supposed to change the culture.

Now, he’s nothing more than a traitor in the eyes of the fans. A snake in the grass who deserted his team when they needed him most. Jamal Adams has managed to become the villain to the same fanbase that once revered him.

What happened? How did we end up here?

We may never get the full story behind Adams’ descent into detestation, but all we know is that it was never supposed to go down like this. There were warning signs, but for the most part, they were ignored by a fanbase who never imagined the unthinkable.

Even following the trade deadline fiasco from last October, no one imagined a future in which Adams was suiting up for a different team. After all, he was still a Jet.

The rumors picked up again in the offseason, but when general manager Joe Douglas declared that he planned on making sure that Adams was a “Jet for life,” the fans believed him. After all, he was still a Jet.

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Adams then started voicing his displeasure on social media once again sparking rumors of his desired departure. But the vast majority of the fanbase simply shrugged it off, insisting that it was nothing more than offseason noise.

After all, he was still a Jet.

And as recent as a week ago, that was still the mindset shared by a large portion of fans. Adams was still a Jet and no matter what offseason drama had unfolded, that fact remained true.

Despite the persistent trade rumors, cooler heads would prevail and an extension would eventually be agreed to. Maybe not this offseason, but some time in the future.

But that mindset feels like a distant memory.

At this point, the relationship appears to be irreparable. Adams doesn’t want to play for the Jets — he’s made that abundantly clear. And suddenly, the player once dubbed the franchise’s savior has now become a scorned outcast.

The self-declared “president” of the New York Jets has been impeached by the very fanbase that once would have unanimously voted for his election.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. It shouldn’t have happened. But yet, here we are.

This is our reality now and for Jets fans who have been down this path before, it feels tiresome. This isn’t a new story for longtime followers of this franchise — it’s merely the latest chapter in a novel of misery.

We’ve been telling ourselves that this wouldn’t turn out like the others. We convinced ourselves that Adams was different — he wasn’t like his predecessors.

But that’s all come crashing down. The truth has been revealed and it’s a reality that no one wanted to accept.

This is a tragedy, plain and simple. Jamal Adams could have been an icon of Jets football — an immortal superstar synonymous with dragging the organization out of the hollow chasm of suffering that they had occupied.

He could have been a hero.

But as a wise man once said, “you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

And Jamal Adams has become that villain.