Jamal Adams has been cheered plenty of times during his football career. This might have been the most awkward.

The New York Jets rookie safety participated in a forum Monday for season-ticket holders that included NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and running back Matt Forte. During a question-and-answer session, a fan asked the panel about player health and safety.

Adams, a first-round draft pick from LSU, isn’t so fond of the NFL rules that often protect offensive players.

“I’m all about making the game safer … but as a defensive player, I’m not a big fan of it,” Adams said with a laugh. “But, I get it. But, again, and I could speak for a lot of guys that play the game, we live and breathe — this is what we’re so passionate about.

“Literally, if I had a perfect place to die, I would die on the field. I would be at peace. Literally. That’s not a lie.”

Many of the approximately 150 fans in the team’s auditorium applauded Adams’ comment. It was a curious response from Adams — and reaction — particularly coming off the largest update on chronic traumatic encephalopathy so far.

Boston University and VA researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week that they found signs of the disease in nearly 90 percent of the 200 brains examined, including 110 of 111 from NFL players.

The 21-year-old Adams, who is quickly becoming one of the faces of the Jets franchise, made it clear that his comment came from his passion for the sport.

“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,” Adams said. “But, again, I’m all about making the game safer. That’s all I can say about it.”

FREE TO GO: Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said he hasn’t forbidden Philip Rivers or Antonio Gates from attending former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.

Lynn also didn’t say Monday whether Rivers and Gates would be at the Chargers’ joint practice with the Rams on Saturday instead.

Rivers told the NFL Network he won’t travel to Canton for the ceremony honoring Tomlinson, the Chargers’ longtime star running back. Gates hasn’t said where he will be.

But Lynn squashed any notion that he had ordered his two veterans to stay in camp, saying: “I don’t know where that came from.”

ALBERT ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT: Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Branden Albert has abruptly retired.

The two-time Pro Bowl selection was acquired in a trade with the Miami Dolphins in March. He called it quits at age 32 Monday after three days of training camp and nine NFL seasons.

Albert was drafted by Kansas City out of Virginia in 2008 and was a Pro Bowler in 2013 and 2015.