Jamal Adams and dad share tears over Jet’s Pro Bowl spot
Jets safety Jamal Adams admittedly got emotional over his family’s first trip to the Pro Bowl.
Adams — who vowed after his rookie season last year that he would never be snubbed again for the honor — said he and his father, former Giants first-round pick George Adams, shared a few tears upon learning Tuesday night that the second-year safety was one of three Jets named to the NFL’s version of the All-Star Game.
“It’s an honor, man, a dream come true, honestly,” Adams said after practice Wednesday. “I had a moment with my father. He called me and he was definitely tearing up and he was happy for me. And I was tearing up a little bit. I cried a little bit later just at my house by myself.
“It was just an honor, a dream come true and I’m excited for it.”
Jamal Adams, the Jets’ sixth-overall pick out of LSU in 2017, has emerged as one of the top safeties in the league in his second season. He ranks first or is tied for first among all NFL safeties in sacks (3.5), forced fumbles (three), tackles for a loss (nine) and quarterback hits (eight), while registering 94 tackles and 12 passes defensed.
George Adams, a running back selected by the Giants with the 19th-overall pick in 1985, totaled just 886 yards and scored three touchdowns over parts of six injury-plagued seasons in the NFL.
“It’s very special. His career was cut short due to injury, and honestly I felt like me being drafted by the Jets, it was calling to come here where he left off and take off from there,” Jamal Adams said. “He always wanted to make the Pro Bowl and do great things, but it didn’t happen that way. I did it for my family and I did it for myself and I did it for this team.
“But I definitely did it for my father, and my mother, as well. She was definitely real proud of me, but my father and I have a special relationship and I know he was excited.”
Adams added he’s “also excited to have two teammates, Jason [Myers] and Dre [Andre Roberts], going down there and doing the same thing I’m doing” — the kicker and return man, respectively, who will join Adams at the Pro Bowl in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 27.
Said coach Todd Bowles: “I’m proud of all three of them. Any time your peers vote you in something, obviously you feel proud when guys in the league honor you because you’re playing hard and they recognize your work.
“[Adams] can be as good as he wants to be. Obviously he’s got to stay healthy and you have to take care of your body and take care of yourself, but right now the sky is the limit for him.”
A rare beacon in a 4-10 season, Adams is looking to finish his breakout campaign on a strong note with stern tests for any defense to close out the schedule against Green Bay and New England.
“Most definitely, going against the best of the best, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, there’s nothing like that,” Adams said. “We can’t ask for two better quarterbacks to come in and compete against. But we’re just focused on Green Bay this week.”
Rodgers has been nursing a groin injury for the eliminated Packers, who are 5-8-1 and fired coach Mike McCarthy earlier this month, but the two-time league MVP said Wednesday he expects to play Sunday.
“We have a guy coming in that to me is the best quarterback in the league when he’s healthy,” Adams said. “He’s gonna be ready to play. He’s the ultimate competitor, and I’m definitely looking forward to going up against him for the first time. I used to watch him as a little boy, and I’m definitely looking forward to the matchup.”
