Jets Exercising S Jamal Adams Fifth-Year Option

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the Jets are exercising S Jamal Adams‘ fifth-year option for the 2021 season on Monday. 

This move will cost the Jets $9.86 million for the 2021 season, but this figure is guaranteed for injury only and won’t prevent them from working on a long-term extension in the next year or so. 

Last week, Jets GM Joe Douglas told reporters that they plan to connect with Adams and his representatives after the draft regarding a possible contract extension.

Douglas said that while they don’t plan to trade any players, he will listen to trade offers for Adams if a team calls.

“The plan is going to be to connect with Jamal at some point after the draft,” Douglas said, per Ralph Vacchiano. “But going into this draft, my intent isn’t to move any players. But if a team calls we’re going to have conversations.

“My plan is to keep Jamal here a long time.”

Douglas declined to say if he has received interest from other teams on Adams, per Rich Cimini.

Regarding Adams reported plans to skip voluntary workouts, Douglas doesn’t appear to be concerned about it.

“Our voluntary offseason program begins April 27 … and the highlighted word is ‘voluntary,’” Douglas said, per Vacchiano.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Adams is not expected to participate in the team’s virtual offseason program once it officially opens. Schefter added that the Jets have not expressed any official interest in extending Adams up to this point in the offseason.

The Jets at least entertained the idea of trading Adams before the deadline last year and Schefter mentioned that he will be a name to monitor during and leading up to the draft.

Back in January, Adams said he and the team had engaged in small discussions about a contract extension, but they hadn’t gotten into much detail. Even so, Adams mentioned that he fully expected to sign a long-term deal with New York this offseason. 

Adams wasn’t happy that his name had come up as a potential trade candidate last year.

Adams, 24, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2017. He just finished the third year of his four-year contract worth $22,256,084, which includes a signing bonus of $14,326,244.

In 2019, Adams appeared in 14 games for the Jets and recorded 75 tackles, 6.5 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, one recovery, two defensive touchdowns and seven pass defenses.