Jets general manager Joe Douglas couldn't list each moment of adversity his team faced throughout 2019. There were too many to "list every single one."
Douglas expressed his pride for how the Jets finished the season despite failing to reach the playoffs for the ninth straight season. The Jets overcame their disappointing start and won six of their final eight games, finishing two games under the .500 mark.
"Right after the trade deadline, we were 1-6," Douglas told reporters at his year-end news conference. "We were getting ready to be 1-7. One of the messages I had to the team was that we, as an organization, need to handle adversity better. I feel like the backstretch of the season — we did that. ... I can't tell you how proud I am of the way the locker room stuck together. There's every opportunity to roll over, and no one did it. ... Going 6-2, that's not luck. You don't do that. It takes a group of guys that became galvanized and stuck together."
#Jets GM Joe Douglas on the team's 6-2 record in the final 8 games: "The plan moving forward is to use that as a launch pad for us."
— Ethan Greenberg (@EGreenbergJets) December 31, 2019With Year 1 u,nder Adam Gase complete, Douglas remains on his mission to create the "best culture in sports."
"The best cultures are a self-sustaining entity," Douglas said, "where leadership and professionalism is transferred to one generation of players to the next. You see that in every great team. Every great team has that culture and that's what were going to try and create here. What is it going to take? It's going to take people with the right level of commitment, character and competence.
"Every person, player that we bring into this building, they're going to be assessed on their fit within out culture and their ability to help us achieve out ultimate goal to win a Super Bowl year in and year out."
LE'VEON BELL'S FUTURE
Gase didn't go into detail regarding Le'Veon Bell's future Monday.
When asked if he expects Bell to be the Jets' starting running back in 2020, he said Bell was under contract for three more years and deflected all personnel questions for Douglas to handle. The Jets general manager praised Bell, but isn't ruling out a potential trade.
"My personal experience with Le'Veon has been very positive," Douglas said. "He's done everything we've asked him to do as a person (and) as a teammate. I've touched on it last time I've talked to you guys. He's one of our best workers, one of our best teammates. He connects and engages with everybody. I can't say enough positive things about Le'Veon.
"If teams do call, I'm going to listen. How those conversations go? I can't speak to that. But when teams call, I will listen."
QUINCY ENUNWA STATUS
Quincy Enunwa's season virtually ended before he had a chance to get it started.
Enunwa suffered a neck injury in Week 1 and was eventually ruled out for the rest of the season. He revealed that he has spinal stenosis, but is hopeful to return to the Jets for another season. Enunwa is under contract until 2023, and Douglas expects Enunwa to be back.
"Quincy will be back," Douglas said. "That's the hope and plan."
CONTRACT FOR JAMAL ADAMS
Jamal Adams is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2022. Douglas doesn't appear willing to let negotiations on a new deal linger that far into the future.
Douglas says the team will soon begin discussions on a contract extension for the Pro Bowl safety, who ranked second on the team with 75 combined tackles.
"He's eligible to renegotiate his rookie deal," Douglas said. "Obviously we're just starting our process. We're going to get in with the coaching staff. That's really the start of our entire process, talking about each player, each contract and what we're going to do moving forward. That's something we're going to discuss at the end of the week."
