Getty New York Jets linebacker Kwon Alexander celebrating with some teammates after a huge play during an NFL game.
The New York Jets have a ton of big-time decisions to make this offseason.
One of the biggest is figuring out what the heck they’re going to do with their linebacking corps. Two of their starters are set to be unrestricted free agents in 2023.
Connor Hughes of SNY argued on Twitter that the Jets “should” re-sign one of those guys in particular: Kwon Alexander.
“Something that’s flown under the radar: LB Kwon Alexander remained healthy. He didn’t miss a single game for the first time since 2016, his second year in the league. Alexander completely reworked his diet at different points throughout the year. Credits that.”
Something that’s flown under radar: LB Kwon Alexander remained healthy. He didn’t miss a single game for first time since 2016 — his second year in the league.
Alexander completely reworked his diet at different points throughout year. Credits that.
#Jets should re-sign him
Jets Rewarded for Taking a Flier in Training Camp
Ahead of training camp the Jets had been flirting with Alexander’s camp for weeks about possibly striking a deal.
Finally on August 2 they were able to sign a contract and it reunited Alexander with his old coach Robert Saleh from their days on the San Francisco 49ers.
The veteran was expected to be part of the linebacker rotation, but he showed up in better shape than they were expecting and he quickly ascended the depth chart.
Alexander has a loud personality and brings an infectious energy to the locker room. He also lived up to his reputation as a thumper on the football field.
Lance Medow, a New York Giants host, said back on August 28 that Alexander was making his presence felt in the “hard hitting department” in the preseason finale.
Lance was likely referencing this absolutely soul-crushing tackle versus the Giants that forced a fumble and electrified the fans at MetLife Stadium.
#Jets LB Kwon Alexander (@kwon) brought the absolute HIT STICK forcing the fumble vs the #Giants. This dude is GOING TO BE A PROBLEM! #TakeFlight #NYGvsNYJ
That would be a sign of things to come for Alexander who delivered a remarkable season for the green and white.
He appeared in all of the 16 games in 2022 and made 11 starts. When he was on the field he just simply made plays:
- 65 total tackles
- A forced fumble
- Half a sack
- Five tackles for loss
Jets Might Have to Dip Into the Bag for Kwon Alexander
To sign Alexander back in August, the Jets got the deal of a lifetime only paying $1.2 million on a one-year deal.
This time in free agency he likely won’t come as cheaply.
The Jets took a flier on Alexander despite the fact that he has missed over 31 games during a five-year stretch prior to joining Gang Green.
However this season he was able to stay healthy and make a consistent impact. One of the main reasons for that was a change in his diet.
Connor Hughes of SNY joined my podcast back in September and revealed some behind the scenes details behind his plan:
“I actually talked to Kwon and he completely changed his diet. He got bloodwork this offseason and he found out all of these things he can’t eat. So he has invested [more time] this offseason than ever before in his body in terms of stretching and rehabbing physically.
It is literally the Kwon Alexander diet. He had a doctor that took his bloodwork and analyzed exactly the things that do harm for him and exactly the things that do well for him. It is crazy with the stuff that he eats.”
.@Connor_J_Hughes shared a juicy nugget on the show about a future @SNYtv story on #Jets LB Kwon Alexander (@kwon) completely changing his diet, ‘he got bloodwork this offseason’ to analyze what food is good vs bad & it’s an intense super strict plan he sticks to #TakeFlight
While that stuff all seemed pretty crazy at the time it has seemingly paid amazing dividends with his first completely healthy season since 2016.
Now the 28 year old (who will be 29 by the start of the 2023 season) is looking to cash in big time this offseason.