Jamal Adams is one step away from demanding a trade off the Jets.
Adams’ frequent use of social media to voice his displeasure with the two years and $13.45 million remaining on his contract – and the slow-moving negotiations on an extension – reached another level.
“Maybe it’s time to move on,” Adams wrote Wednesday at the end of his latest Instagram rant.
Adams’ message last week, as word leaked the Browns and defensive end Myles Garrett are in talks on an extension, was the Jets are “all talk no action.”
Now? Adams is venting at Jets fans and bringing Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes into the conversation. Garrett (No. 1), Adams (No. 6) and Mahomes (No. 10) were picked in the 2017 NFL Draft and this is the first offseason players from that class are eligible for an extension on original deals.
“What does Pat have to do with me?” Adams replied to a fan. “Pat is about to get 40 to 60 M’s (million) a year. Well deserved. That’s my guy. But don’t compare me to QB’s if you aren’t paying me QB money.”
Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Panthers earlier this offseason. He was selected two picks after Adams.
So, Adams can’t figure out why the Jets are not acting like the Browns and Panthers. Adams did not participate in the Jets’ voluntary virtual offseason to send a message and it appears the two sides could be headed toward a holdout if training camps start on time July 28.
“Don’t use the pandemic excuse,” Adams wrote. “CM22 got paid not too long ago. … [I am going to] protect myself just like the organization will look out for themselves at the end of the day.”
The NFLPA told agents this week the league could lose $3 billion in revenue playing fan-less games in 2020 – more if games are cancelled completely – and that could affect the salary cap in 2021. So, some players are feeling more urgent than ever to strike a mega-deal.
The fan who lit Adams’ fuse explained on his account that Adams blocked him.
“If you read the whole thread I did agree with him getting paid as the top player [at] his position and only complimented him,” Instagram user abrahams.jonathan said. “The only thing I disagreed with was how he has basically talked sh– to the media about the Jets and has held out so far. Told him to keep it in house. And mentioned Mahomes. Super bowl and NFL MVP and no [contract] yet.”
It has long been suspected that Adams, who is from the Dallas area, wants to fill the Cowboys’ need for a playmaking safety. He has been upset with the Jets since his name surfaced in trade rumors last October.