The first wave of free agency is clearly over and the team is now shopping at cheaper prices. The Jets still have more than a $ 30 million salary-cap space and are making more moves, but the big splash is over. Here are some thoughts on how the early period of free agency went:
1. I have heard from some fans who are disappointed or overwhelmed What the Jets have done this week. After big-splash signs from wide receiver Corey Davis and edge razor Carl Lawson, they have calmed down considerably.
This was the plan. You have to remember that General Manager Joe Douglas is a reluctant participant in free agency. He grew up professionally under the Ozzie Newsome with the Ravens. Baltimore does not like spending madness in free agency. His philosophy is to draft and develop players and then re-sign some and let others take compensatory picks. This is why Douglas wants to build in jets.
Here’s the rub: You had a better draft. Douglas’s philosophy is not revolutionary. I have heard a version of this from the last four Jet GMs. The key to pulling it is hovering over a good number of your draft picks. If you don’t do that, then you remain a bad team, and at some point you will get desperate and throw stupid people around in free agency.
Douglas pretends that he is not there yet. Davis and Lawson signs showed discipline. He targeted those players and hurried out and landed them. He did not overpay or reset the market and those positions are the way the Jets have done with bad contracts (Trauma Johnson, CJ Mosley). They did not make themselves long term. If Davis and Lawson don’t work out, the Jets could move on after the 2022 season in the way they have structured their contracts.
Therefore, those expecting to spend in any situation may be disappointed. But know how it wants Douglas to operate. We’ll see if he can draft the Jets to make him a winner now.
2. It will be very interesting to see how wide receivers pan in this free-agent market. The Jets all-in to get Davis and signed him to a three-year, $ 37.5 million contract. The only other top receiver to have received a deal close to Curtis Samuel, who signed a three-year, $ 34.5 million contract with Washington. Other receivers made very few deals as the market softened. JuJu Smith-Schuster signed a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh and Will Fuller received only one year from Miami. Kenny Golladay remains on the market, but it is clear that he is not going to get the big contract he was looking for.
This puts some pressure on Davis and the Jets. He gave her a commitment when they could shop for revenge. By the time Gaulde overtakes him, Davis may end up with the largest comprehensive contract contract when it comes to guaranteed money ($ 27 million).
3. There is no question that the jets are better today than they were a week ago. Lawson and Davis’ additions are a clear upgrade on what those positions were last year. That being said, it is still difficult to watch the Jets and imagine competing in the AFC East. The Patriots went on crazy spending this week and dramatically improved their skills. The Dolphins didn’t spend like they did last year, but they added a receiver for Tua Tagoveloa with a Fuller contract. He also addressed a hole in the center and signed some depths. The Bills originally put together the team that had just gone to the AFC Championship game.
It is hard to see how the Jets will blend in this division right now. And they can compete with a cheating quarterback this year.
4. If I had to meet the needs that Douglas still had to address, I’d say: cornerback, running back, interior offensive line, linebacker and another edge rusher. He is likely to hit many of these in the draft, but there are still some attractive free-agent options at some positions.
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