Jamal Adams’ latest rip job on Jets still unlikely to lead to trade

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What’s next for Jamal Adams in his campaign to shoot his way out of town? Claim that Joe Namath wore fake fur? Drag the Jets’ Lombardi Trophy around behind his car in the parking lot of the team’s headquarters, à la George Costanza? Adams continues to blast anyone and everyone with the Jets in an …

What’s next for Jamal Adams in his campaign to shoot his way out of town?

Claim that Joe Namath wore fake fur?

Drag the Jets’ Lombardi Trophy around behind his car in the parking lot of the team’s headquarters, à la George Costanza?

Adams continues to blast anyone and everyone with the Jets in an effort to get traded. Two days after taking a shot at owner Woody Johnson on Twitter, he ripped coach Adam Gase and general manager Joe Douglas in an incendiary interview with the Daily News.

The Jets still have no interest in trading him, according to sources. Douglas has said since the trade deadline last year that he will pick up the phone if someone calls, but the belief remains that he will have to be blown away by an offer to move Adams. He has given no indication to the Adams camp that he is inclined to trade him and has not granted their request for permission to seek a trade.

Adams is using the only leverage he has — being a distraction. The Jets still have him under contract for two more years and can use the franchise tag after that. Once Adams realized a contract extension was not coming, he began taking shots on social media and now in an on-the-record interview.

Adams claims the Jets lied to him and had promised him a new deal this offseason. A source familiar with the talks said Douglas met with Adams’ agent Kevin Conner at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., in January. The Jets knew Adams wanted a contract extension this offseason, but were unsure until that meeting of what he was seeking in a new deal. It then became clear Adams sought to be the highest-paid player on the team, eclipsing C.J. Mosley’s annual average value of $17 million per season. The Jets viewed Mosley’s contract differently because he got it on the open market after playing out his rookie pact with the Ravens rather than getting an early extension three years into a five-year contract, as Adams was requesting.

Douglas did not make any promises about a contract extension, according to the source, but did agree to present their request to ownership. The next time the two sides talked was in February and Conner was told the Jets were going to focus on free agency and the draft and hold off on any more contract talks.

At the same time, Douglas was praising Adams publicly, saying he wanted Adams to be a “Jet for life” at the scouting combine.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, changing the economics of the NFL, which played a role in the Jets’ decision making about long-term contracts. Adams decided not to participate in the virtual offseason program in April. Then in May, the Jets informed Conner that they were not going to offer an extension to Adams at that time. There was no timeline set for further discussions, but they agreed to keep the lines of communication open.

Adams was unhappy. That is when things broke down between the two sides and Adams began voicing his displeasure on social media and asked for the trade, providing the Jets with a list of teams that he would like to play for.

Adams has now also put Gase in his sights, saying he is part of the reason he wants to be traded and questioning his leadership. It is pretty transparent that Adams is just trying to irritate the Jets enough that they will move him, and Gase is an easy target. If he had such an issue with Gase last season, why did he seek an extension with the team in the first place? Why did he tweet “I want to be in New York” in January?

The Jets internally have questioned whether Adams truly wants to be on the team since last year. The Jets are 16-32 in Adams’ three years and the losing has worn him down. His list of teams he would like to be traded to shows he wants to go to a winning organization rather than try to turn the Jets into one. It has become clear now that he no longer wants to be with the Jets.

So, where does it go from here? Adams said he will report for training camp on Tuesday. Being back around his teammates may calm things down or he could continue to be a distraction. Does he come up with an injury like Jalen Ramsey did with the Jaguars last year to sit out? Does he continue to fire away at Gase and Douglas?

This drama is not nearly over. Stay tuned.