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They aren’t doing this anymore.
I’m talking about buying love in free agency.
They were guilty of this in the past, when they would overpay free agents to play for the Jets, because the team was going through a bad stretch, and the organization perhaps didn’t have the best reputation in the league. It was almost like they had to pay a VAT tax to sign player, or at least they thought they had to.
A couple if contracts that come to mind were the profligate deals given to Trumaine Johnson and C.J. Mosley by the former regime. Those contracts were examples of buying love and were over the top.
Now with Mosley, yes he was a solid player for the team last year, and a terrific leader, but still, you don’t give inside linebackers five-year contracts for $85 million with $51 million guaranteed, especially those who don’t excel in coverage. The Colts Darius Leonard got a similar deal to Mosley last year, but that was signed two years after Mosley, basically for the same money, and Leonard is very good in coverage. It’s not that Mosley is bad in coverage, but he’s kind of the middle of the pack for his position.
Look, it was pretty clear if Mosley had his druthers, he would have returned to Baltimore where he was a four-time Pro Bowler and beloved with the organization and fan base, but the Ravens reportedly offered around $13 million a year and the Jets $17 million per. How was he going to turn down the Jets offer which was so much more than the Ravens or any other team?
The Johnson deal was one of the worst in NFL history. The Jets desperate for a corner, gave an average corner with sub-par speed, $45 million guaranteed. It made no sense.
But the days of the Jets overpaying for players to buy their love is over.
Look, Joe Douglas still has a lot to prove as a GM. He’s been the first to admit it.
“Obviously, a difficult season, not where we want to be, four wins, a tough season,” said Douglas.
But aside from the wild Ryan Kalil contract in the summer of 2019, he’s been very good on the contract front. He determines a value through extensive film study with his staff, and determines a price for a player and basically sticks to it – take it or leave it. If you don’t take it, he moves on to the next one.
All the contracts given out by Douglas on Monday made sense.
They wanted to get a veteran to play RG, and they got a player, Laken Tomlinson, who comes from the same exact system in San Francisco, and gave him a three-year deal for $40 million with $27 million guaranteed. So it’s basically a two-year deal for $27 million. Think about that – $27 million guaranteed compared to $51 million guaranteed (Mosley) and $45 million guaranteed (Johnson).
Braxton Berrios got a two-year deal for $12 million with $7 million guaranteed. I’m not going to lie, I thought he’d get a little more considering he’s not just a good kick and punt returner, but a terrific receiver and pseudo-running back on reverses and sweeps. Considering all the Berrios does, that is certainly a team-friendly deal.
As for the contract given to former Cincinnati Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah, three-year contract for $24 million, it’s hard to evaluate that without knowing the guarantee, same with Tampa Bay safety Jordan Whitehead getting a two-year $14 million deal, and Seattle cornerback D.J. Reed landing a three-year contract for $33 million. But all three should help the Jets. We will get into this trio more tomorrow.
It’s pretty clear Douglas isn’t going to give out five-year deals with a ton of guaranteed money, which are bad for the cap, like the contracts Mosley and Johnson got. He tends to give out short contracts, often three-year contracts that are like two-year deals in terms of when the team can get out without taking a big cap hit.
And most importantly, he’s not in the business of overpaying to buy love.
March 15, 2022
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