Jets' Jamal Adams Confirms He Was Benched in Monday Night Blowout vs. Browns

The New York Jets benched starting safety Jamal Adams in Monday's 23-3 defeat to the Cleveland Browns.

"Yeah, I was benched," Adams said in an interview with WFAN (h/t Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News). "They benched me. I tried to anticipate a play... and I anticipated wrong. It happens." 

Adams picked up penalties on back-to-back snaps on the Browns' final drive in the fourth quarter. He committed offside on a 2nd-and-8 and then encroached when Cleveland lined up for a 2nd-and-3.

In what's becoming the preferred method for an athlete to signal his or her discontent, Adams stopped following the Jets on social media and removed them from his bio, per NFL reporter Dov Kleiman:

CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora downplayed the significance of the gestures, speaking to a source who said, "There is nothing to it." Adams also brushed aside the topic during the WFAN interview:

However, both The Athletic's Connor Hughes and the Record's Andy Vazquez questioned whether all is well:

Hughes also pointed to a critical assessment Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams gave Adams during the offseason. Williams told reporters he was using a blunt approach toward the 23-year-old and that he told Adams directly he had "coached a lot better people than you before."

This is coming as Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jalen Ramsey requested trades following the start of the regular season.

The Miami Dolphins confirmed Tuesday they dealt Fitzpatrick and a pair of draft picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers for three draft picks, a package headlined by a 2020 first-rounder. Ramsey remains a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, with The MMQB's Albert Breer reporting the Jags are demanding two first-round picks as compensation.

Adams hasn't yet asked for a trade, but nobody should be surprised—based on current developments—if that was his next step.