GM Joe Douglas has done a very good job of reshaping the Jets roster since his arrival.
While he still has a lot of work to do, the Jets are clearly a lot more talented than when he arrived, including landing the defensive (Sauce Gardner) and offensive (Garrett Wilson) rookies of the year from last season. That is quite an accomplishment for one organization.
And aside from doing a solid job reshaping the roster, he’s done a really good job of avoiding giving out reckless contracts, and caving to agent and media pressure, like in the Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye situations. No matter how much the agents and their surrogates in the media bashed the Jets, Douglas stood his ground, including trading Adams to Seattle for a package including two first-round picks, an incredible haul for a box safety who’s had issues staying healthy.
Generally, Douglas contracts just make sense – no Trumaine Johnson or Le’Veon Bell kind of deals.
And with Derek Carr, while Douglas wanted the player, he wasn’t going to give out a reckless contract. Carr ended up getting $37.5 million a year on a four-year contract.
If the Jets had blown him out of the water, like offering him $41-42 million a year, he’d probably be working in Florham Park.
Like on March 15, 2019, the Jets signed C.J. Mosley to a five-year deal for $85 million deal with $51 million guaranteed, kind of profligate for an inside linebacker at the time. Mosley, who was a beloved player in Baltimore, probably would have preferred to say with the Ravens, but they reportedly were offering around $13 million per. The Jets were offering $17 million per. If you were him, where would you sign?
Douglas isn’t going to do what former GMs did, overpay to get players to come to a team that has been struggling in recent years.
In other words, pay an extra tax.
He will make good competitive offers, but not bid against himself.
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