The Jamal Adams-Jets reunion talk is back again, and this time it comes with a pretty simple football argument behind it.
On Jets social media, the same old question has been making the rounds for the past couple of weeks: “Should the New York Jets give Jamal Adams a second chance?” It’s a debate that seems to show up every year, and the fan base still looks split right down the middle.
Some are open to bringing back the former No. 6 overall pick. Others think the move just isn’t worth it.
Adams, for his part, has kept pushing for a return to New York on X. And if the Jets are willing to look past how things ended, there’s a case that the fit actually makes sense.
The split with Florham Park was messy, and Adams has admitted it was immature. But that was six years ago, and the reality is he still sits near the top of Jets defensive backs in franchise history.
He’s one of the most accomplished safeties the team has ever had, with two All-Pro selections and a legitimate argument for the No. 1 spot alongside Victor Green. At this point, the Jets can judge him like any other free agent.
The bigger point is need. New York could use help at linebacker, and Adams just spent last season showing he can handle that role.
With the Raiders, he made the move from his old box-safety, blitz-heavy usage into a full-time linebacker job. The results were solid. Pro Football Focus gave him a 67.3 overall grade, which ranked 33rd among 88 qualified linebackers, and his 69.2 coverage grade placed 15th.
He played in 17 games, starting four, and logged 448 defensive snaps. Over that stretch, he finished with 45 tackles, including five for loss, plus one forced fumble.
The pass-rush work was still there, too. On 35 rush snaps, Adams produced seven pressures for a 20% pressure rate, along with a sack and a hit. That kind of disruption has always been part of his game.
In coverage, he held up better than plenty of people probably expected. Adams was targeted 38 times over 247 coverage snaps and gave up 211 yards and one touchdown. His 5.9 yards per catch allowed was the lowest among linebackers.
The problem was tackling. Adams was charged with 12 missed tackles, and his 21.4% missed tackle rate was tied for the second-highest among qualified linebackers with at least 300 snaps.
Even with that flaw, the Jets’ depth chart makes the idea more appealing. Demario Davis remains one of the best linebackers in football as he gets older, and the team is hoping Jamien Sherwood can bounce back with less on his plate now that Davis is expected to run the defense and wear the green dot.
After that, the room gets thin. It’s still unclear whether Francisco Mauigoa and Mykal Walker, both of whom flashed at times last season, can be trusted as the third linebacker in base packages.
That’s where Adams fits. He would immediately become the Jets’ most dependable backup behind Davis and Sherwood, and he could carve out a role as a blitzing linebacker who helps generate pressure.
At 30, he’s nowhere near the peak version of himself. But he still does damage near the line of scrimmage, and that alone gives him value.
For a team looking for defensive depth, he looks like a low-cost flier worth taking. The Jets don’t have much to lose, and Adams brings a skill set they could use.
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