Asked About Safety, Jets' Jamal Adams Says Field Is 'Perfect Place To Die'

(97.1 The Ticket) Football is a softer game than it used to be, no doubt about it, with more regulation and less celebration of bone-cracking contact.

Concussion concerns and research on the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which is caused by blows to the head and can cause memory loss, confusion, depression and dementia, have changed the game. It's been blamed for suicides and other acts of violence. A recent study of the brains of 111 NFL players found 110 of them had CTE.

Before the start of the 2013 season the NFL settled a concussions lawsuit with more than 4,500 former players for $765 million.

But then there's other other side.

And Jamal Adams, a rookie safety for the New York Jets, laid it bare when asked about player health and safety.

With Commissioner Roger Goodell  at his side during a fan forum, Adams, 21, told the crowd, "I'm all about making the game safer, but as a defensive player, I'm not a big fan of it. But I get it. I can speak for a lot of guys that play the game. We live and breathe. This is what we're so passionate about."

"Literally, I would — if I had a perfect place to die, I would die on the field," he added. "I would be at peace."

"And that's not a lie," Adams said. "There's so much sacrifice that we go through as a team, and just connecting as one and winning ballgames. There's nothing like playing the game of football. But again, I'm all about making the game safer, that's all I can say."

Goodell did not react; the crowd cheered.