Jamal Adams has gone from potentially becoming a ‘Jet for Life’ – his former CEO’s words, not his own – to talking about his retirement as a member of his new team.
My, how quickly things can change in this football league. After making it known he wanted to quit the franchise that brought him to the NFL with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 Draft, he’s ready to build his football home forever in the Pacific Northwest.
“My plan is to retire here,” Adams told reporters Thursday during his introductory press conference, according to NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz.
Adams was New York’s brightest star of the future, brighter even than the franchise’s quarterback. He was a fan favorite, winning two trips to the Pro Bowl and drawing roaring crowds to Orlando during Pro Bowl practice just to walk past them.
He’s about to enter a much noisier environment in Seattle.
“It’s so surreal being around a big organization like Seattle,” Adams said in what can be read as a shot at his former team, via Q13 Fox’s Aaron Levine. “Being coached by the Hall of Famers, playing with the (future) Hall of Famers … I’m here to help and can’t wait to hang out with the 12.”
The 12 will be more than happy to welcome one of the NFL’s best young defensemen to a unit that already includes leading linebacker Bobby Wagner. Adams said Thursday he told Wagner “I’m here to help you,” per Ruiz.
“There’s no starting role for me yet. I have to earn it,” Adams said.
Performative statements aside, Adams will have earned his job by simply walking through the door. The 2019 All-Pro selection required several first-round picks to be secure, and he will be ordering a top-priced contract shortly.
He will likely be remembered in New York for his game-changing games, his self-confidence and bragging, and his discontent that ultimately forced him out of town.
He made sure to clarify a key point on Thursday: Despite how things turned out on the opposite coast, he is not a troublemaker.
“I’m here to play ball, I’m not a distraction in the locker room,” Adams said. “I’ve never had a problem in my life. I’m far from a problem.”
The only problem Adam plans to pose is that of opposing offenses. He’s going to work to become one with Wagner and the rest of the Seattle defense from this training camp.
“How would I describe our affair? It’s a cheat code, man,” Adams said of his arrival at Wagner in Seattle, via KOIN’s AJ McCord. “It’s a cheat code.”
