Blitz specialist with 0 sacks in 3 years hints at NY Jets return

Jamal Adams is hinting at a New York Jets return

It’s shocking that this needs to be explained, but there are some New York Jets fans out there who seem to be taking the bait, so here we are.

Let me be abundantly clear: There are zero reasons for the Jets to pursue a reunion with Jamal Adams.

If you’ve been out of the loop on social media, Adams (who is still under contract with the Seahawks through 2025) has been stirring the pot recently by posting pictures of himself in a Jets uniform on his Instagram story. He caused further hoopla when he responded to a comment on Instagram that claimed Jets fans miss him (speak for yourself). Adams replied, “Run it back,” hinting that he wants to rejoin the team that drafted him in 2017.

RUN IT BACK pic.twitter.com/2usHOOAHzV

— imsaucelol (@BomeislMatthew) February 17, 2024

Come on, guys. We’re smarter than this.

If you really need an explanation as to why bringing back Adams would be one of the most asinine decisions in recent franchise history (a difficult bar to clear), I’m happy to spell it out for you.

First of all, did we forget about how Adams left the team in 2020? The Jets didn’t part ways on amicable terms. Adams forced his way out through his antics on social media. Since leaving the team, he has continuously taken shots at the team and its fanbase. He even made a personal attack on one of the team’s beat reporters.

Sure sounds like a wonderful addition to a locker room that is trying to win a Super Bowl this year. Additionally, what kind of message would Joe Douglas and the Jets organization be sending if they let a player walk all over them only to welcome him right back?

If Adams were still a great player, maybe there’d be a conversation worth having. After all, winning trumps everything. The Jets also have a completely different coaching staff compared to when Adams was last here. Maybe the Jets could let bygones be bygones to add a player who can push them closer to winning a Lombardi.

But here’s the reality: Adams is not a good player anymore. At all.

Not only is Adams nowhere close to the two-time All-Pro that he was with the Jets, but he isn’t even worthy of being a starter. It’s not as if he’s “okay”. He performed abysmally last season.

The self-proclaimed “Prez” is really the Prez of only one thing: missing tackles. In 2023, Adams had a missed tackle rate of 24.2% – the worst in football among 74 safeties who played at least 500 defensive snaps.

On top of that, Adams allowed a 122.1 passer rating on throws into his coverage, which was seventh-worst.

So, he can’t tackle and he can’t cover. But at least he can blitz, right?

Nope. He can’t do that anymore, either. It’s been 1,154 days since Adams recorded his last sack, which was way back in Week 15 of the 2020 season. Adams has gone 24 consecutive games without a sack. He didn’t even have a QB hit in 20 of those 24 games.

Adams will be 29 years old this year and has battled through countless injuries since joining the Seahawks. He is not the same guy he was five years ago. This is a player whose performance suggests he should be a backup at this stage of his career.

The injuries are another issue. Adams has only played 34 out of 67 possible games over the past four seasons, including 10 of 34 over the past two. He hasn’t played more than 12 games since 2019.

On top of it all, the Jets aren’t even an ideal scheme fit for him. There is no reason to think that Adams will magically rekindle his past dominance by returning to the Jets.

When Adams was successful in New York, he was playing in Gregg Williams’ defense, which is the polar opposite of their current scheme in almost every way. Williams loved to blitz, which was perfect for unleashing Adams’ strengths (well, the ones he used to have). Under Jeff Ulbrich and Robert Saleh, the Jets blitz their defensive backs less than anyone in football.

Consider this: In 2023, the Jets’ safeties blitzed 16 times in the entire season. Adams alone blitzed 99 times in 2019. There were three games where he blitzed 13 times.

Remember, Ulbrich and Saleh worked together in Seattle under Pete Carroll. Their current scheme with the Jets borrows many of the same elements from Carroll’s scheme. If Adams fell off a cliff after moving from Williams’ scheme to Carroll’s, nothing is going to change when he goes from Carroll’s to Ulbrich and Saleh’s.

With all of these red flags, Adams doesn’t even seem like an intriguing option in a sub-linebacker type of role. He was one of the worst tacklers at the safety position last season, hasn’t been an effective blitzer since 2020, and isn’t an ideal scheme fit. Even if he only played on run downs and/or in base packages, it’s hard to see how he makes them a better team. Besides, Ashtyn Davis already thrived in that role for the Jets last year. New York should just re-sign Davis and keep it moving.

A player with Adams’ profile would not be remotely appealing to the Jets even if there wasn’t a checkered past between the two sides. Add the drama into the mix and it is utterly baffling to me that any fan would consider wanting him back on the team.