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The New York Jets need to add some reinforcements.
On Sunday, September 15 pass rusher Jermaine Johnson was carted off the field after suffering an Achilles injury versus the Tennessee Titans. The fear inside the building is that Johnson ruptured his Achilles.
If that is confirmed by additional medical testing, Johnson will miss the rest of the 2024 season.
One potential replacement the team could kick the tires on is veteran free agent Yannick Ngakoue.
Ngakoue Is the Best Option Available for the Jets
The God’s honest truth is options are limited. There aren’t many available free agents who could move the needle.
If any free agent fits that category, it might be Ngakoue.
Ngakoue, 29, is a hired mercenary by every meaning of the definition. The former Maryland product has played for six different teams during his eight years in the NFL.
Despite bouncing around the league, Ngakoue has proven to be effective regardless of what team he has played for.
He has appeared in 123 games and has made 115 starts since joining the NFL in 2016. During that time, Ngakoue has racked up 69 sacks, 21 forced fumbles, 142 quarterback hits, and has totaled 224 tackles.
The last several contracts that Ngakoue has signed have been sizable. In 2023 he signed a one-year deal for $10.5 million. He made $26 million total across two seasons from 2021-2022 on the Las Vegas Raiders. Before that, he had a one-year deal for $12 million with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That could prove to be too rich for the Jets’ tastes, but you get what you pay for. Raymond Summerlin of Sharp Football Analytics listed Ngakoue as his “best available EDGE free agent.”
The straw that stirs the drink for the Jets is its defensive line. For it to operate at capacity, the Jets need quantity and quality. They rotate heavily so they require multiple bodies and they need quality because the defense relies on its front four getting home consistently.
It’s unclear if the Jets will be able to do that without the services of Johnson for the rest of 2024.
Well the Jets Gotta Do Something
We can agree to disagree on who the Jets should bring in, but what is undeniable is they have to do something.
This offseason the green and white lost or traded away John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff, and Quinton Jefferson. Huff, JFM, and Jefferson combined for 19.5 sacks in 2023, per ESPN.
Now add to that the loss of Johnson and the Jets are putting from the rough. This season the team has playoff and Super Bowl aspirations. If the defense isn’t successfully rushing the passer consistently they don’t have any hope of realizing those lofty goals.
Trading for a proven pass-rushing stud could prove difficult this early in the season. We are only two weeks through the 2024 regular season. There are 17 games and seven playoff spots available on each side of the conference.
Despite how poor any team has looked so far, no one is packing it in yet. That limits the potential trade candidates for the Jets to consider. It could be a different conversation come the NFL’s trade deadline but that is a few months away.
If the Jets don’t want to give up a trade asset, signing Ngakoue for nothing but a pile of money could prove to be an attractive option.
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