FLORHAM PARK — Jets rookie Jamal Adams found himself at the center of a firestorm on Monday after saying the football field would be "a perfect place to die."

Tuesday, Adams clarified his comments, saying they were "simply about passion" and not chronic traumatic encephalopathy [CTE].

Adams' words became a point of discussion in NFL locker rooms on Tuesday. And while his fellow players seemed to understand that Adams was expressing his passion for the game, they still disagreed – strongly – with his message.

"I'm [not] like the dumbass rookie for the Jets who goes and says I was to die on the f----ing football field," Michael Bennett, a defensive end for the Seahawks told USA Today Sports. "I want to be in Africa, buried in Ghana somewhere. I don't want to die on the football field. That would not be a good death for me.

"It just shows the disconnect between the youth and the veterans," said Bennett, who is 31 and in his ninth NFL season. "To say you want to die on the football field is ignorant, and it doesn't pay homage to the people who came before. It shows the ignorance and lack of intelligence when it comes to the history of football, and what players have been through in the NFL.

"It's literally a game," Bennett said. "I love football for being a game. I don't love it for being my life."

Adams admitted Monday that he was surprised his comments became such polarizing topic of conversation. But once it became a national story, Adams – at the urging of Jets coach Todd Bowles –decided to meet with reporters to clarify what he meant.

"My comments were simply [about] passion," Adams said. "Nothing else. Not one time did I say anything about CTE – say anything negative. I understand what's the outcome of it, and I know there's families that are affected."

Adams said his comments were motivated strictly by passion.

"I love this game so much," Adams said. "I come on this field and this is my job now. I'm very passionate. I go to war with my brothers every day. It's sacrifice. It's a long sacrifice that a lot of people don't understand what we go through,

But other players around the NFL perceived Adams comments as misguided, no matter the motivation.

Calais Campbell, a 30-year-old veteran for the Jaguars also refuted Adams' message, telling USA Today Sports he wants "to live a long and prosperous life."

"I've always been a big football fan. But no, I would not die for football," Campbell said. "When I see young guys say that, I love that you have passion for the game, but there's a lot good things outside of football that they should get to experience and everyone should get to experience."

Seahawks veteran cornerback Richard Sherman called Adams' comments "odd."

"When you strap on the helmet, you're not saying, 'I want to die today,' but you are saying that me playing this game is going to have detrimental effects on my body in the long run," Sherman said. "Do I understand the consequences of going out there, I do. But I'm not going to put myself in a situation if I can avoid it. But he's young. He doesn't have kids, he just got in the game. He's like, 'Aaahhh! I'll do anything for this game.'"

And at Packers training camp, veteran defensive end Ricky Jean Francois also referenced the gulf between young players and veterans, indicating that Adams came from "a different generation of football."

"I understand a kid like that is going to say something like that," Francois told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. "They love this game! Cool, but let’s be realistic, you don’t want to die on the field. This is not a football movie, this is not a gladiator movie, where you die in glory in the middle of the field.

"Nobody wants to die for this game, we just want to keep playing a kid’s game and keep having fun with it but have less worries about, 'Will I be able to function five or six years when I get out of the NFL?' If he wants to say that to sound good, then great. But common sense will tell you ain’t nobody trying to die on the field. This ain’t no movie."

Adams' comments came during a fan forum at Jets training camp with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. A fan asked if players were concerned about a recent study which found signs of CTE in 110 out of 111 former NFL players.

Here's the full context of what he said, Monday.

"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. But I can speak for a lot of other guys that play the game. We live and breathe it and 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. And that's not a lie, Like, it's so much sacrifice that we go through as a team and just connecting as one and winning ball games -- there's nothing like the playing the game of football."

Fans applauded Adams saying he wanted to die on the field, making the whole situation a bit more uncomfortable.

"I can't control what other people -- how they viewed it," Adams said of the applause. "All I can do is give my point."

Adams said Tuesday that he supports the NFL's rule changes to protect players.

"Most definitely," Adams said. " [I'm] all about making the game safer."

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