Jets, Giants in Talks With ‘Well Built’ Offensive Lineman: Report

Yodny Cajuste, Patriots

Getty Former New England Patriots offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste walking off of the field after an NFL game.

Let the games begin.

Free agent offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste is set to visit the New York Jets on Monday, May 22. However, following that visit, he will go right down the road to see the New York Giants, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

Coming out Cajuste was described as a “well-built” hog molly by NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein. He stood in at 6-foot-5 and weighed in at 312 pounds at the NFL combine in 2019.


Jets and Giants Competing for the Same Talent in Free Agency

Cajuste is 27 years of age and originally entered the league as the No. 101 overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft.

He has spent his entire four-year NFL career to date with the New England Patriots. This offseason his rookie contract expired and he became a restricted free agent.

New England decided to place an “original round tender” on him this offseason. If another team would have signed him to an offer sheet they would have owed the Patriots a third-round pick.

That never occurred and instead, Cajuste ended up signing his one-year tender for $2.7 million on April 5. Over a month later, New England decided to cut Cajuste outright on May 18 making him an unrestricted free agent.

In his four years with the Patriots, Cajuste has appeared in 17 games and has made five starts during that span.

The former West Virginia product is coming off his best season according to the Pro Football Focus grades:

  • 65.7 overall
  • 53.6 pass block
  • 72.4 run block

With the Jets and Giants both competing for the same player, that could increase the urgency to get a deal done.

Earlier this offseason wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr was set to visit the Jets and to prevent that from happening the Baltimore Ravens provided him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

There was another example back in late March. Veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell was also set to visit the Jets but he never got on the plane.

Instead, the Atlanta Falcons sold him over the phone and got a deal done last second.

If the Jets want to ensure Cajuste never visits the Giants, they might have to be aggressive with their free-agent contract offer.


Yodny Cajuste Jets Rumors Are Very Interesting

You can never have enough offensive linemen on an NFL roster. The Jets know that fun fact better than anyone based on the rash of injuries in the trenches in 2022.

However, the timing of this visit is very interesting, to say the least.

Mekhi Becton, the former No. 11 overall pick in the first round, let the Jets coaching staff have it in a tell-all interview with Bob Glauber of Newsday.

He seemingly blamed the Jets for getting injured last season and revealed his not-so-great relationship with the coaching staff.

One Jets fan said sarcastically, “Yeah, Mekhi is totally going to be a jet. They’ve been looking to move on from him for a minute. That article solidified his destiny with the Jets.”

Another fan also noticed, “Interesting time in this. Interesting indeed.”

I’ll admit the timing is odd, but at the same time, I’m not sure the Jets sniffing around a career backup is any indication of the future of Becton heading into a contract year.

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