Aaron Rodgers’ recruitment efforts with the Jets are not limited to players who will help the offense move the ball.
Safety Adrian Amos revealed that Rodgers — his fellow co-captain with the Packers — called him to recommend considering the Jets in free agency and then again to welcome him aboard after Amos’ visit to the facility led to “all good vibes” and signing a one-year, $1.75 million contract.
“When it was time,” Amos said, “of course it boosts it when you know somebody there and you know somebody can play ball.”
The Jets signed Amos (122 career starts over eight seasons) almost immediately after safety Chuck Clark suffered a season-ending torn ACL late in OTAs.
He is battling Tony Adams, who played 10.3 percent of the defensive snaps as a highly praised undrafted rookie last season, to start alongside Jordan Whitehead.
“Anywhere I go, I think I’m the guy they’d want,” Amos said after Sunday’s practice, the last before the first day off in training camp. “In the league, I’ve been ‘the guy’ since Day 1. Even when I was a fifth-round [draft pick] and came in and had to earn a spot, that’s just my mentality.
“But the first time I’ve seen all the plays and walked through anything was when I got here a couple days ago, so it’s very understandable for me not to be with the [starters] all the time right away. This is the NFL: Nothing is given to anybody, so just come work and be an asset to the team.”
Amos, 30, is a three-time top-10-ranked safety by Pro Football Focus — including No. 2 as recently as 2020 — but he slipped to No. 81 last season, when he was charged with 33 catches and six touchdowns allowed on 44 targets. It could explain why he was still available in mid-June when Clark was ruled out.
“[Chuck’s] work ethic, his drive, and what he stands for is everything that we believe in in this organization,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “Obviously it opens a door for other people to compete. Getting Amos in here is really good because he has tremendous experience and he’s a damn good football player, but it’s a shame.”
Amos said he did not know that Clark was injured until “almost right before” signing.
As a Baltimore native, he knows many current and past Ravens, including Clark, with whom he sympathizes as a casualty of the “unfortunate circumstances” of NFL injuries.
“I’ve been in a lot of different defenses,” Amos said, “so I feel like I adapt to whatever defense I’m in.”
While most of the Jets are just learning what it is like to practice against Rodgers, Amos knows the demands from four seasons in Green Bay.
“He switches up the cadence, he can make every throw so you have to be honest, he can throw certain things blind so you have to be tuned in with your keys and can’t watch him the entire time,” Amos said. “He’s competitive and you want to beat him every day, so that will elevate the team.”
