NY Jets: Joe Douglas made the best of a bad situation with Jamal Adams

NY Jets’ GM Joe Douglas was dealt a poor hand, but he made the best of a bad situation.

Hats off to Joe Douglas! NY Jets fans should be thrilled with the way that Douglas has handled the Jamal Adams situation and with the return the Jets got from the trade with the Seattle Seahawks that sent their star safety packing.

Douglas really made the best of a bad situation that has been unfolding ever since Adams’ name was mentioned in trade rumors before the deadline last season.

The rookie general manager made a masterful trade, acquiring three picks — two of which are first-rounders — and a veteran safety in exchange for a disgruntled star and a future fourth-round pick.

Adams had turned himself into a headache for the Jets’ front office, calling out management and the coaching staff on social media throughout the week.

After requesting a trade as well as not receiving a desired contract extension, it became obvious that something was going to happen with Adams before the start of the season. At that point, a trade to a team not in the AFC is probably the best that Jets fans could’ve hoped for.

The NY Jets accomplished a few different things with the Jamal Adams trade.

This move will accomplish multiple things for the Jets. The first being that it will ease locker room tension, especially between players and coaches. Adams had made his displeasure with head coach Adam Gase clear — this move will hopefully calm things down.

It may also bring the locker room together. Adams has been such a leader on this team over the last few years, but the way he went after the coaching staff and his back and forth with Le’Veon Bell on Twitter may just provide some extra motivation for the team this season.

This year, the move also doesn’t wreck the Jets’ defense. Included in the trade is veteran safety Bradley McDougald who will replace Adams in the starting lineup nicely. While McDougald isn’t at the same level as Adams, he will provide strong safety play alongside Marcus Maye.

The final thing this trade does for the team is set them up nicely for the future. Acquiring an extra first-round pick for the next two years, along with a third-rounder next year provides Douglas with a plethora of draft picks to take advantage of.

Douglas can either package picks into a star player in a position of need, possibly Pittsburgh wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster or Jacksonville edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue. He will also have the option to draft in these spots or use them to trade up and upgrade the team through the draft.

Either way, this should be looked at as a win for the Jets.

The Adams situation was ultimately beyond repair. While Jets fans would have loved to see him play in green and white for his entire career, this was a necessary evil.

In one move, Douglas has gotten rid of an unnecessary distraction as well as boosted the Jets prospects for the future.