New York Jets Considered Logical Landing Spot for Veteran Free-Agent Safety

The New York Jets could attempt to try and reunion with a former star to help augment their issues at safety.

Sep 22, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans safety Jamal Adams (33) sneaks a peak into the backfield at Nissan Stadium. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The New York Jets put safety Chuck Clark on injured reserve earlier this week, taking him out of the lineup for at least the next four games after an ankle injury.

With two other cornerbacks unlikely to play this week due to injury, the Jets have some depth issues on their back line.

Would that allow them to reunite with a former star safety who was just released by the Tennessee Titans? CBS Sports seems to think there's a possibility.

The Titans granted Jamal Adams his release on Thursday, a request the veteran safety made after he appeared in just three games this season.

Adams was with the Titans when they faced the Jets earlier this year, but he was still recovering from an injury and didn't play much.

Clark's injury is part of the logic in connecting the dots with the Jets, according to CBS.

Adams was the Jets’ No. 6 overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft, and the LSU product made an immediate impact. In three seasons with New York he earned one first team All-Pro selection and one second-team All-Pro selection. He was also named to the Pro Bowl twice and earned Pro Football Writers Association all-rookie team mention in 2017. He should have been a stalwart of the Jets’ defense for years to come.

But in 2019 his name came up with trade talks at the deadline and Adams admitted that hurt him, given the quality of his play in New York.

In 2020, it led Adams to stay out of voluntary and organized team activities even as the Jets picked up the fifth-year option on his contract. He asked for and finally got a trade to Seattle, a deal that included several draft picks, one that led to the Jets selecting wide receiver Garrett Wilson.

Adams was a second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection again for Seattle in 2020. He then signed a four-year deal with Seattle with a $20 million signing bonus and $38 million guaranteed, which made him the highest paid safety in NFL history at the time.

After a solid 2021, he tore a quad tendon in the first game of the 2022 season and spent the entire year on injured reserve.

Last season he had 48 tackles and two passes defended before the Seahawks released him in the offseason. A hip injury limited Adams to just 20 snaps in three games with the Titans after he signed a one-year contract with Tennessee in July.