New York Jets star safety Jamal Adams is celebrating Festivus five months too early considering the grievances he’s been airing lately.
The disgruntled 24-year-old went after his head coach, Adam Gase, this time as he seemingly looks for any way to get out of the Meadowlands ahead of the 2020 season.
“I don’t feel like he’s the right leader for this organization to reach the Promised Land,” Adams told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “As a leader, what really bothers me is that he doesn’t have a relationship with everybody in the building. At the end of the day, he doesn’t address the team. If there’s a problem in the locker room, he lets another coach address the team. If we’re playing s—y and we’re losing, he doesn’t address the entire team as a group at halftime. He’ll walk out of the locker room and let another coach handle it.”
It seems as though general manager Joe Douglas is finally heeding to Adams’ desire by stating that he’s “open to trading him,” per Mehta.
All of this drama stems from non-existent contract negotiations amid a global pandemic. Adams —who is one of the top players in the game at his position — is signed through the 2021 season, but is making “just” $825,000 before a more suitable $9 million in 2021.
The initial belief from Adams was that the Jets were going to send over a contract proposal to his camp at some point this spring, but that was before the COVID-19 outbreak threw a wrench into the sports world and many pro teams’ finances.
All the while, Adams aired his displeasure with the organization before demanding a trade last month.
“It’s definitely mixed feelings,” Adams said. “But at the end of the day, my happiness is more important. I know my worth. I’m going to stand on my beliefs. I’m going to stand on who I am as a person. And I’m not ever going to change who I am for somebody who’s judging me. Either you accept me for who I am and you work with me and support me or you don’t. It’s okay if you don’t.”
