Adam Gase Says Jamal Adams Isn't a Cornerstone but 'I Like Him on Our Defense'

Adam Gase won't call Jamal Adams a foundation of the Jets but still raves about his safety's ability

If Adam Gase has had conversations with Jamal Adams, he isn’t divulging anything. The New York Jets head coach won’t go into any details about the recent falling out experienced by Adams this week. 

Adams took to social media this week to take shots at the Jets after reports surfaced that the team was in conversations about possibly trading the star safety. On Tuesday following the passing of the trade deadline, general manager Joe Douglas said that the Jets weren’t actively shopping Adams but that they did listen when teams called about the player. The most interested team, according to reports, was the Dallas Cowboys. 

Adams, a Pro Bowl safety and a fan favorite, practiced on Wednesday and Gase said he is pleased with his star’s focus this week ahead of a game at the Miami Dolphins. 

“I know this, he’s focused on Miami right now. He practiced well yesterday, he went out there flying around. Same energy,” Gase said on Thursday during his press conference. “I mean, I like the fact that he’s focused on Miami.” 

Gase was asked several times about the Adams issue and he wouldn’t weigh in with anything significant. He instead repeatedly praised Adams for his focus on the Dolphins game. 

Then Gase was asked the question of if Adams, widely considered the best player on the Jets roster, was a cornerstone player and a building block for a team currently in rebuild mode. It was a fair question given Adams’ stature and the fact that the Jets had fielded calls on the safety’s availability. 

Not surprisingly, Gase sidestepped the question. He praised Adams but wouldn’t call him a foundational piece of the franchise. 

“I think he does a lot of things that puts us in a really good position. I think he’s one of the best players we have on our roster. The whole cornerstone and all that stuff, I really don’t know what that means. I know we are in a really good position with him at his spot,” Gase said. 

“I feel like we have one of the upper tier players at that position.” 

He then fielded a follow-up, on the same topic of Adams being a cornerstone to build around. Gase provided some clarification on his view of Adams not being someone to build around by noting that the player is a safety in a quarterback-driven league. 

“Again, to me, I don’t know how to answer that because it is so hard in the NFL to say ‘Build around this guy, build around this guy’ when it’s not a quarterback,” Gase said. 

“I like him at his spot, I like him on our defense. I love him on our defense. I think he does a great job.”