The Jamal Adams era in New York is over.
After three successful seasons and one chaotic offseason, the Jets traded their All-Pro safety to the Seattle Seahawks for a package of draft picks and a quality starting defensive back.
Adams quickly became a fan and team favorite when he joined the Jets in 2017. A field general and vocal leader from the start, Adams was the perfect player for a New York market and proved to be one of the most passionate players in recent Jets history. Would it have been nice for Adams to finish his career with the Jets? Sure. But Joe Douglas made the prudent move by trading a player in his prime for top value before shelling out loads of money.
Jets fans will always remember the good times, though. With that, here’s a timeline of Adams’ career with the Jets.
Rookie season
The Jets drafted Adams sixth overall in the 2017 draft to be the face of their defense. Then-coach Todd Bowles named Adams the starting strong safety alongside 2017 second-rounder Marcus Maye, and he started all 16 games during his rookie season.
Adams made an immediate impact his rookie year with the third-most combined tackles on the team (83). He added nine tackles for a loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and six pass breakups.
Sophomore season
This was Adams’ breakout season. Adams looked great as a rookie, but he came into his own in 2018. The Jets named him captain for the season and he recorded his first career interception in Week 1 against the Lions.
Adams proved to be a dynamic do-it-all defender that season when he finished second on the team with 115 combined tackles, including five games with at least 10 total tackles. He added 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and 12 pass breakups and made his first Pro Bowl. He won Defensive MVP of the Pro Bowl, made Second-team All-Pro and the Jets named him Curtis Martin Team MVP.
2019 season
The NFL saw a new side of Adams last season with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams running the show. Adams had always been a coverage safety and tackler, but Williams unlocked Adams’ pass-rushing prowess in a season. Adams blitzed 90 times in 2019 – the 10th-most in the league – and at one point was on pace to break Adrian Wilson’s sack record for a defensive back before injuries hurt his performance. He finished with 6.5.
Adams had a lot of highlight-worthy moments in 2019. He recorded his first-career pick-six against the Patriots’ Jarret Stidham in a blowout loss in Week 3 and an amazing strip-sack fumble recovery for a touchdown against Daniel Jones and the Giants in a Week 10 win. His best game, though, came against Washington the following week when he recorded a career-high three sacks in a blowout win.
Adam was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl and named a First-team All-Pro, but his fantastic season was marred by a contentious relationship with Joe Douglas and Adam Gase after rumors surfaced the Jets fielded offers for Adams at the October trade deadline. Adams didn’t speak to Douglas or Gase for weeks and questioned his future on the team.
That carried into the 2020 offseason.
2020 offseason
Adams revealed at the NFL Combine in March that he and the Jets were negotiating a long-term contract extension. Though he didn’t give details, Adams appeared elated for some security with the team that drafted him. Despite Douglas claiming he wanted to make Adams a “Jet for life,” a deal didn’t surface and Adams quickly became frustrated with the front office. This prompted Adams to skip all of the Jets’ voluntary virtual offseason programs until he was extended.
The Jets picked up Adams’ fifth-year option on his rookie deal, which gave New York control over Adams’ contract through at least the 2021 season. Adams, up to this point, had almost zero leverage in negotiations considering the precedent of first-round picks not being extended before their fourth year in the league, but Adams still wanted to be the highest-paid safety and one of the highest-paid defensive players in the NFL.
A series of social media comments from Adams followed, painting a poor picture of how Douglas and the Jets managed Adams’ contract negotiations. Adams claimed the Jets called him “selfish” for wanting a new contract and never actually sent him a real proposal.
Everything came to a head on June 18, 2020, when he requested a trade.
Seahawks trade
One day after Adams told the New York Daily News he didn’t think Gase was the right coach for the Jets and said he felt disrespected by the team during negotiations, New York traded Adams and a 2022 fourth-round pick to the Seahawks for safety Bradley McDougland, a first-round pick in 2021, a third-round pick in 2021 and a first-round pick in 2022.
Adams tweeted a farewell message to Jets fans, thanking them for the love and support over his three years in New York.
And just like that, he was off to Seattle.
