The Jamal Adams saga (or is it a drama?) continues. He wants out of New York, and Daily News reporter Manish Mehta is reporting that Jets general manager Joe Douglas is open to entertaining the possibility.
"Adams confirmed to the Daily News on Thursday that the Jets GM has indeed conveyed his willingness to move the team's best player if the right deal presents itself after intense acrimony this offseason," wrote Mehta.
Until now, all reports have stated that the Jets were unwilling to part with their All-Pro safety.
While this may not seem 49ers-related just yet, I bring it up because earlier this month, an unconfirmed rumor from Sports Illustrated mentioned San Francisco, along with the Seattle Seahawks, as a team that had "preliminary discussions" with the Jets about Adams.
To be clear, Mehta notes that the Jets have not given Adams permission to seek a trade.
Adams has been creating a divide between himself and the Jets this offseason, most recently criticizing the team's head coach, Adam Gase.
"I don't feel like he's the right leader for this organization to reach the Promised Land," Adams told the 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," Adams added. "If there's a problem in the locker room, he lets another coach address the team. If we're playing sh---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."
Adams seems to be burning his bridges before getting to the other side, with the thought that perhaps it might be enough to convince the Jets to take action. Although, the safety does say that he intends to report to training camp if he has to remain with the team.
"I'm showing up for my teammates," Adams said.
Jamal Adams wants out. Again.
Here are my top 5 realistic landing spots:
1. #Cowboys
2. #Eagles
3. #49ers
4. #Seahawks
5. #BucsNot including Houston (no picks), KC (no money) or Baltimore (Chuck Clark)
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) July 24, 2020
Make no mistake, he would prefer to be elsewhere, and in June named San Francisco among the teams to which he would be interested in going. He is also seeking to become the league's highest-paid safety with two years left on his rookie deal.
A big-time trade could be difficult for the 49ers—or any NFL team—right now with so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the salary cap. There is speculation that next year's limit could fall significantly. There is even talk that owners are pushing for the salary cap to drop both this year and next as a means of partially offsetting any losses due to the potential (and likely) absence of fans within NFL stadiums this season. Such an unprecedented move could immediately impact several rosters.
The 49ers had a chance to acquire Adams in general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan's first year running the team but opted to select defensive lineman Solomon Thomas with the duo's first-ever draft pick together.
"It's definitely mixed feelings," Adams said of his rocky relationship with the Jets. "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."
