FRISCO (105.3 THE FAN) - The New York Jets were expected to make this easy on themselves - "expected'' by people including Jamal Adams.
"I'd be lying if I said I don't expect to be extended,'' the standout safety said during Super Bowl Week on Jan. 29. "I do. Not for what I've just done on the field but even off the field for what I've done for the organization. I've done everything they've asked me to do. I've done it at a high level each and every year."
Adams added via Twitter: "I want to be in New York!''
But those desires and expectations came three-and-a-half months after the Jets engaged the Dallas Cowboys in NFL deadline trade talks - talks that were not exactly "close.'' As we discussed at the time on 105.3 The Fan, the Cowboys offered a first-round pick and cornerback Anthony Brown and New York essentially wanted three times that.
But the subject was broached. The dream (Dallas' and, we will educated-guess DFW native Adams', too) was launched.
And until New York Jets pays Jamal Adams like he's the best safety in the game? The subject lives. The dream lives.
Back in October, Dallas pretty much offered too little, and the Jets - maybe gauging the market without any serious intention of doing a deal - asked for too much, at different times requesting a first-, a second- and a third-rounder plus the involvement of an All-Pro offensive lineman, Zack Martin or Tyron Smith.
Along the way, Adams expressed some dissatisfaction with the Jets. But then Adams, 24, the LSU product and Carrollton native who still spends a lot of time in DFW, swallowed that dissatisfaction. Why? He surely worked on the assumption that New York would acknowledge that their top pick (sixth overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft, who has become a two-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro, has lived up to the billing. ... and lived up to a contract in excess of what the Chicago Bears have done with free safety Eddie Jackson, who recently became the highest-paid player at the position after signing a four-year, $58.4 million extension that includes $33 million in guaranteed money.
"As all of you know, Jamal is an amazing player," Jets GM Joe Douglas said. "We saw what he did all year ... He did so many good things. He's a special guy."
But October became January. And now January has become April. Maybe an Adams deal with the Jets will happen tomorrow. Or maybe ...
"I see the game much clearer now,'' Adams recently tweeted. "It's all business!''
Yes, it's a business. Yes, Jets talks with Adams could break down. Yes, if there is an opening up of a window for a bidder? Dallas will be a bidder.
Can the timing of such a breakdown leading to a blockbuster trade happen before the April 23 NFL Draft? Meaning that the price Dallas would sacrifice would include a first-round pick (No. 17) in this draft? Unlikely; there is no reason for the Jets and Adams to give up on one another quite that quickly.
But Dallas figured out the finances of this in October. If a player of this caliber comes available again? The cap guys at The Star will figure it out again.
"I've proven that I'm the best safety doing it right now," Adams recently said, making his public pitch to the Jets ... and, presumably, anybody else interested in listening. "I'm not trying to be paid just to be 'the highest-paid whatever.' I'm trying to get paid for my status and what I've done. That's what I'm about right now."
