Jamal Adams calls out effort of some former teammates in Bleacher Report interview

Jamal Adams had some strong words in an interview with Bleacher Report about Jets culture after he was drafted a year ago.

Everybody was used to losing. You can always tell that vibe. I came in, and it was like everybody wanted to do the bare minimum. They didn’t want to go above and beyond. They didn’t want to take that extra step. They didn’t want to be uncomfortable, [but] to be great, you have to be uncomfortable. You have to be willing to sacrifice and willing to do the little things. And the team, the organization, just wasn’t doing those things. It could’ve been two or three people on the team that were doing it and then the rest weren’t or vice versa. But if you’re not clicking on all cylinders with the 53-man roster, everybody upstairs, the staff, the whole organization, it’s not going to go anywhere, man.

Adams’ interview with Bleacher Report took place in the spring and was only published this week. Rich Cimini provided some follow up information.

Addressing reporters, Adams said he was referring to players no longer on the team. The most likely candidates are former defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, both of whom had a history of being late for meetings.

There would be no great shock if that was the case. For all of their talent and Pro Bowl pedigrees, the entire league doesn’t think much of that duo at this point. Both had to settle for one year contracts on the open market this year.

When the Jets picked Adams a year ago, many articles used some variation of the phrase “culture changer” to describe his impact. There were certain leadership intangibles he was supposed to bring.

Part of the reason I was so excited about the pick was due to this. I felt at the time like the Jets were too resigned to being second class citizens. I know they share a division with a team on a historic run of success, but you aren’t going anywhere if you concede the AFC East to the Patriots before a season even starts.

Sam Darnold is the biggest domino in the launching of a new era of Jets success, but Adams is going to be a part of the team’s core going forward. One of his jobs will be leading in the locker room to make sure everybody is going above and beyond.