If the New York Jets are hellbent on fulfilling Jamal Adams’ wish of being traded away, they won’t have a shortage of suitors.
The disgruntled and outspoken 24-year-old who is one of the very best safeties in the game officially requested a trade last week after frustrations regarding a contract extension reached a boiling point.
In those reports, Adams listed seven teams that he’d like to be traded to — and the list of interested parties would be larger considering he is one of the top safeties in the game — but the Jets don’t necessarily have any pressure to trade him considering he has two years left on his contract.
Players who have been displeased with their deals in the past have sat out entire seasons, but sitting out two years while expecting to get top-tier money on a new contract is nothing more than a pipedream. That’s something Adams and his representation would surely identify if he started threatening the Jets.
While that would ensure the Jets would get Adams on the field in 2020 — if there is a season — there are incentives as to why pursuing a trade now could be beneficial.
The Jets are still an outlier in an AFC East that is expected to see the New England Patriots’ reign of terror end. The Buffalo Bills are tabbed by many to win the wide-open division, but it’s already a foregone conclusion that the Jets need more to become a legitimate contender. Trading Adams sooner rather than later would create a path to acquire those pieces.
But what kind of haul could the Jets actually get?
A recent example suggests a lot, though it might be an unlikely scenario.
During the 2019 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey with one-plus years left on his contract to the Los Angeles Rams for two first-round draft picks (2020 and 2021) and a fourth-round pick in 2021.
The Jets would be foolish to turn down such an offer for a safety this offseason, but the only way that would happen is if GM Joe Douglas was able to incite a bidding war amongst the interested parties.
There is no denying that the Jets could get at least one first-round pick for Adams but the ancillary pieces are what would get such a deal over the finish line.
A third or fourth-round pick along with a player — whether that be a safety to cushion the blow of losing Adams or a skill player to give Sam Darnold more options on offense — would likely be as far as teams go in negotiations.
If the Jets don’t get what they want, they hold onto their star.
If teams don’t like what they hear from the Jets, they could wait until free agency.
