The New York Jets are facing an incredibly difficult decision this offseason at the offensive tackle position.
Obviously, Mekhi Becton had a disappointing campaign that was completely marred by injury but is still in the team’s plans as a key cog in the trenches.
George Fant has been a revelation on the blindside and has guaranteed his spot on the team heading into 2022.
That leaves one big-time pending free agent very much up in the air heading into the offseason.
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Finally, He Has Spoken
On Wednesday afternoon, veteran Morgan Moses spoke to the media and was asked about his pending free agency status and whether or not he’d like to return to the team in 2022:
“I will answer this as honestly as I can, my time here has been amazing. You hear the chatter in your ear about how bad the Jets organization is and things like that and that hasn’t been my experience since I came here. This team every day is trying to win and really as a veteran that is all you can ask for. I don’t know what my future is here but I know I got a lot of football left in me.”
.@Connor_J_Hughes asked #Jets OT Morgan Moses if he wants to stay here in New York after this season, Moses described his time w/ NYJ as ‘amazing’ & said he’d love to stay but he isn’t worried about it & is looking forward to ‘busting some ass’: 🤣 #TakeFlight #NFL #TBvsNYJ
The 30-year-old was unexpectedly released by the Washington Football Team back in May which suddenly left the stalwart offensive tackle without a home.
After going on a mini free agency tour, he finally settled on signing with the Jets ahead of the July 4 weekend.
They initially were heavily engaged in discussion about a multi-year contract, but ended up settling on a one-year deal and would reevaluate how things went the following offseason.
Moses initially lost the open competition at right tackle to Fant and was on the bench in Week 1. Some 40 snaps later, Becton gets hurt and the veteran had to step in off the bench.
Since that point, he has made 14 consecutive starts on the right side and has filled in admirably.
Is a Long Term Deal on the Horizon?
Moses would later add during his open availability with the media that he would “love” to stay with the Jets and he has really enjoyed his time here, but also shared that “there are things out of my control.”
Some of those things he was likely indicating were the rest of the offensive tackle room on 1 Jets Drive. Becton, when healthy, will be one of the two starters and Fant has played fantastic in 2021.
You can only start two offensive tackles in an NFL offense and Moses has exclusively played on the outside his entire NFL career.
Unless the big man is potentially cool with a backup role and/or a swing tackle gig, this may be a partnership that doesn’t continue beyond 2021.
It would be a crying shame because Moses has been every bit of the player he was cracked up to be in Washington. Not only has he produced on the field, but he has been an invaluable locker room leader during some trying times this year for the Jets.
Both PFF and Spotrac projected market value have Moses set to make around $7.5 million on a per-year basis in 2022. This time around the veteran big man will be likely looking for more financial security and could find that on a multi-year deal.
It’ll be up to general manager Joe Douglas to see if he is willing to pay the piper to keep Moses around for the foreseeable future. Douglas said that Moses becoming available this past offseason was too good of an opportunity to pass up and mentioned you can never have enough depth in the trenches.
We’ll see if he still feels that way when he has to cut a fat check this offseason, only time will tell.
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Jets’ Morgan Moses Has Revealing Comments About His Future in New York