The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)

Adams speaks to owner, still hasn’t met with coach, GM

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Jamal Adams still isn’t ready to sit down with his coach or general manager.

But when New York Jets chairman and CEO Christophe­r Johnson asked to speak with him, the star safety was eager to tell him exactly how he felt.

“It was good,” he said. “It went well. Me and Mr. Johnson are really close. I have a lot of respect for him. I was very comfortabl­e because he understand­s me — not Jamal Adams as a football player, but Jamal Adams as a person.

“He’s very genuine and authentic, and I’ve always had a mutual respect for him, so that was a guy I was comfortabl­e with talking to. And, it went well.”

Adams was disappoint­ed earlier this week because his name was mentioned in trade talks. After the NFL’s trade deadline passed Tuesday, Adams tweeted that GM Joe Douglas “went behind my back” to listen to offers involving him after Adams told him a few days earlier he wanted to stay in New York.

Douglas insisted he never shopped Adams but was merely fielding teams’ calls.

Still, Adams said Wednesday he was “hurt” by the whole situation. He also has refused to speak to either Douglas or coach Adam Gase about the situation to clear the air, despite both asking to chat with him.

“I am at peace with everything,” Adams said. “I’m going to eventually talk to all those guys. I’m just not ready to talk. At the end of the day, I’m human. When you get into something that just happened like that, when you get into an argument or whatever it is — a disagreeme­nt with somebody — some people handle it different ways. I do. I’m just not ready to talk.

“And that’s not just saying I’m mad or I’m a diva. I don’t care about that. I really don’t. My focus is on this team, man. I’m ready to play ball.”

Johnson asked to speak with Adams on Thursday, and the 24yearold safety was amenable.

“He wanted to talk and I was open to it,” Adams said. “That was somebody I was open to talking to.”

Adams is in his third year with the Jets and is coming off a Pro Bowl season after establishi­ng himself as one of the NFL’s top safeties.

The struggling Jets are 16 and face the winless Dolphins in Miami on Sunday. He leads the Jets with 46 total tackles, is a team captain and is widely regarded as one of New York’s emotional leaders.

“He’ll go down as one of the favorite guys I’ve ever coached,” defensive coordinato­r Gregg Williams said. “He’s been intense. He’s been focused. He’s had very, very good practices. I haven’t seen anything. I love coaching him.”

Other coaches and teams hold Adams in high regard, too. That’s why his name was at the top of the list of teams’ wish lists at the trade deadline, asking Douglas what it would take to pry him away.

 ?? Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press ?? The Jets Jamal Adams met with owner Christophe­r Johnson over his unhappines­s with team taking trade offers for him.
Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press The Jets Jamal Adams met with owner Christophe­r Johnson over his unhappines­s with team taking trade offers for him.

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