Jets GM Joe Douglas Told Jamal Adams He's Willing to Trade Him After Request

New York Jets safety Jamal Adams said Thursday general manager Joe Douglas told him he's prepared to trade the two-time Pro Bowl selection if the right offer is made.

Adams told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News the front office hasn't granted his representatives permission to actively seek out deals with other teams, however. The stalemate over the defensive back's contract led him to request a trade earlier in the offseason.

"Why would Joe come out and say, 'We want to make Jamal a Jet for life?'" Adams said. "Why would you say that and then not even give me an offer? ... Don't B.S. me. I'm a straightforward guy. You don't have to B.S. me because I'm going to keep it honest."

Adams is referring to comments Douglas made in February when asked about the safety's future heading into the fourth season of his rookie contract. The Jets picked up the fifth-year option in the deal.

"Jamal is an unbelievable player. We're excited about Jamal. The plan is for Jamal to be a Jet for life," Douglas told reporters. "We've had some preliminary talks with his agent. I'm not going to get into the specifics of that. But the plan is for Jamal to be here a long time."

The 24-year-old LSU product told Mehta the conversation began to shift away from an extension in May when the front office said it wanted to "monitor" whether he was "all-in with the Jets and all-in with football" before committing to a lucrative long-term deal.

"It was very insulting," Adams said. "You know I bust my ass for that organization every day. I work my ass off. For them to say that to me, I was like 'OK ... Whoa! That was little bit too far.'"

The Texas native has recorded 273 total tackles, 25 passes defended, 12 sacks, six forced fumbles, two interceptions and a touchdown in 46 appearances across his first three seasons with the Jets. He received a terrific 87.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus for the 2019 season.

He's one of the NFL's best safeties and a premier defensive building block, and he's seeking a new contract that illustrates that value.

Adams said he would have been more accepting of the Jets' stance if the team explained they wanted to invest more money in building their roster for this season, but he became frustrated with the mixed messages from an organization that still possesses $15.4 million in available cap space, per Mehta.

"If they would have just simply said, 'You know what, Jamal, we're not going to look to pay you this year, we want to keep adding players,' I would have respected that more," he said. "I would say, 'You know what? I respect it. As a man, I get it. I understand it's a business.' But for them to tell me that they're going to pay me and then not send over a proposal after they said that's what they were going to, that's where we go wrong. And then for you to ignore me, that's why I have a problem."

ESPN's Adam Schefter previously reported Adams would welcome a trade to seven teams: the Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.

"I want to win," Adams told Mehta. "I want to be with an organization that wants to win and do things the right way."

The 2019 First-Team All-Pro selection added he isn't planning to hold out if a trade doesn't get made, though.