Buckle your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen because it is about to get spicy.
The New York Jets have a ton of cap space and there are several intriguing free agents that will be available.
Although how active will Gang Green be on the open market? Several insiders believe they’re willing to get crazy.
It is worth noting that there are several conflicting reports on how the Jets plan to spend their money. Brian Costello of the New York Post doused the flames saying he doesn’t expect the Jets to go buck wild for what that is worth.
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Sweet Caroline
A pair of ESPN insiders shared the latest they’re hearing on free agency buzz prior to the start of the legal tampering period on March 14 at 12:00 pm ET.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said, “expect [the Jets] to come away with a few significant signings.”
He specifically mentioned two names: Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen and San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman DJ Jones.
There is A LOT OF SMOKE around the #Jets, #Bucs center Ryan Jensen.
@DanGrazianoESPN reiterated that for @espn saying to keep an eye out on NYJ.
This is either the biggest smokescreen in history or the most obvious love affair in free agency.
While those would be interesting, the other bigger nugget that was dropped in that ESPN column came from insider Dan Graziano:
” I was told this week to expect the Jets to spend big on one of the top cornerbacks in free agency. The fact that New England didn’t franchise J.C. Jackson and the Bucs didn’t franchise Carlton Davis indicates that teams don’t expect the cornerback market to be overly lucrative this year. But I was told the Jets seem like the one team that might break the bank for one.”
Here are the top free-agent cornerbacks that appear inside the top-50 free agents according to the Pro Football Focus rankings:
- JC Jackson, New England Patriots
- Stephon Gilmore, Carolina Panthers
- Carlton Davis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Casey Hayward Jr, Las Vegas Raiders
- Darious Williams, Los Angeles Rams
- Steven Nelson, Philadelphia Eagles
- Charvarius Ward, Kansas City Chiefs
- DJ Reed Jr, Seattle Seahawks
The Ultimate Test
If this is truly a San Francisco Jets team or a New York 49ers carbon copy, it seems hard to believe the Jets would throw crazy money at the cornerback spot.
Although as we’ve heard throughout this process, the coaching staff wants to bring with them some valuable lessons they learned on the west coast, but they are creating their own thing here with Gang Green.
The proof will be in the pudding come free agency.
So far the entire cornerback group has been built with undrafted free agents and a combination of day three picks.
This latest nugget would shatter that ideology of trait chasing and reveal a new plan that features paying for proven star talent on the open market.
There is no question that the Jets could use someone with some real experience on the backend of their defense. If the corners can build more trust, perhaps Robert Saleh can feel more confident to incorporate some more man concepts instead of predominantly relying on zone coverage to protect them.
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Jets Ready to ‘Break the Bank’ for Big Money Free Agent: Insider