1. Clean house. There's a lot of culling to do in this locker room. The most obvious release is OT Ryan Clady, whose departure will free up $10 million. That will come in handy, given that the Jets are currently $6.7 million over the cap.
After that? It all depends on how much of a spring cleaning the Jets want to perform. There are rumors the Jets might move on from either Brandon Marshall (whose release would generate $7.5 million in cap space) or Eric Decker ($5.8 million). OT Breno Giacomini ($4.5 million) could be on the chopping block, although the Jets will likely prefer to reduce center Nick Mangold's $9 million cap hold with a contract extension. LB David Harris ($6.5 million) could be gone. Safety Marcus Gilchrist ($5.4 million) ruptured his patella in December and probably won't be ready to play in Week 1.
If you're gonna clean house, though ...
2. Cut CB Darrelle Revis if he doesn't accept a pay cut. The five-year, $70 million deal the Jets gave Revis already looks like a mistake after Revis declined dramatically in the second season of his return trip to the Meadowlands. The good news, I suppose, is that there's no more guaranteed money left on Revis' deal after this year: The Jets owe $6 million in guaranteed base salary this year as part of a $15.3 million cap hit, but they can cut Revis without owing any dead money after this season.
Could Calais Campbell be an option for the Patriots in free agency? AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
The Jets have talked about moving Revis to safety, but what good is that? Even if Revis plays well at safety, they aren't likely to contend this year and aren't going to want to pay a 32-year-old Revis $10.9 million to line up at safety next season. They're better off evaluating younger talent to see if they can find a long-term option at safety and saving $9 million by moving on from Revis. If they can get him to take a pay cut down to $8 million or so, keeping Revis would be more defensible, but the Jets have little use for him in their current situation.
3. Trade Sheldon Richardson. The disgruntled Richardson is wildly talented, but he has been an off-field problem for the Jets and was moved out of position to line up at outside linebacker last season. The Jets are moving forward with Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams at defensive end, which leaves Richardson on the outside looking in as he enters the fifth and final year of his rookie deal.
On talent alone, Richardson is worth a first-round pick. Teams will know that the Jets want to move Richardson, though, before they lose him in free agency. They'll also be aware of his issues off the field, and there could be some hesitance from teams such as Cleveland in handing out a long-term deal to a player they haven't had in their building. There will be a market for Richardson, but it's more likely to be a second-round pick.
4. Resist the urge to do something significant at quarterback. The Jets have no obvious solution under center, with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith leaving, Bryce Petty struggling and Christian Hackenberg all but disavowed by the organization just one year after being selected in the second round. They're probably not going to be allowed to trade for Garoppolo unless they make some absurd offer, and Romo doesn't really make sense. It also would seem foolish to commit to Deshaun Watson or Mitch Trubisky with their first-round pick out of desperation, although such a selection would be more plausible in the second round.
The Jets probably want to go for a placeholder or someone with moderate upside without committing serious money. The quarterback who stands out there is Mike Glennon, who is an unrestricted free agent and posted an 84.6 passer rating on 630 pass attempts over four seasons with the Buccaneers. Glennon does take too many sacks, but QBR accounts for that and has him at a 58.0 mark, in between Alex Smith and Teddy Bridgewater from 2013 to 2016.
Glennon will cost more than a backup, but the Jets probably won't have to guarantee him a ton of money given the clear path the North Carolina State product would have to a long-term starting gig. If the Jets gave Glennon $8 million for 2017 and tacked on a couple of extra unguaranteed years in the $12-15 million range that they could use if Glennon works out, it could be a logical short-term solution with some hope of it sticking in the years to come.
5. Solve the tight end problem. No NFL team has less to work with and did less with their tight ends than the Jets a year ago. New York's tight ends caught 18 passes in 2016, which sounds awful until you consider that the position group mustered only eight combined catches in 2015. Chan Gailey's offense didn't lend itself to tight end usage, and the Jets wasted a second-round pick on the since-departed Jace Amaro, but they can't sit around and just punt the position for years.
Solving doesn't mean paying top dollar for Bennett, but the Jets can piece together a moderate platoon without spending too much. Luke Willson has flashed as a second tight end in Seattle and could hold some upside in a larger role. Rhett Ellison is an above-average blocking tight end who should be better in 2017 as he gets further away from tearing his patella in January 2016. It's also a great draft for tight ends, with four prospects in Scouts Inc.'s top 50. Whoever ends up at quarterback for Gang Green is going to need some help. A safety valve (or pair of valves) at tight end could go a long way.
After that? It all depends on how much of a spring cleaning the Jets want to perform. There are rumors the Jets might move on from either Brandon Marshall (whose release would generate $7.5 million in cap space) or Eric Decker ($5.8 million). OT Breno Giacomini ($4.5 million) could be on the chopping block, although the Jets will likely prefer to reduce center Nick Mangold's $9 million cap hold with a contract extension. LB David Harris ($6.5 million) could be gone. Safety Marcus Gilchrist ($5.4 million) ruptured his patella in December and probably won't be ready to play in Week 1.
If you're gonna clean house, though ...
2. Cut CB Darrelle Revis if he doesn't accept a pay cut. The five-year, $70 million deal the Jets gave Revis already looks like a mistake after Revis declined dramatically in the second season of his return trip to the Meadowlands. The good news, I suppose, is that there's no more guaranteed money left on Revis' deal after this year: The Jets owe $6 million in guaranteed base salary this year as part of a $15.3 million cap hit, but they can cut Revis without owing any dead money after this season.
Could Calais Campbell be an option for the Patriots in free agency? AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
The Jets have talked about moving Revis to safety, but what good is that? Even if Revis plays well at safety, they aren't likely to contend this year and aren't going to want to pay a 32-year-old Revis $10.9 million to line up at safety next season. They're better off evaluating younger talent to see if they can find a long-term option at safety and saving $9 million by moving on from Revis. If they can get him to take a pay cut down to $8 million or so, keeping Revis would be more defensible, but the Jets have little use for him in their current situation.
3. Trade Sheldon Richardson. The disgruntled Richardson is wildly talented, but he has been an off-field problem for the Jets and was moved out of position to line up at outside linebacker last season. The Jets are moving forward with Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams at defensive end, which leaves Richardson on the outside looking in as he enters the fifth and final year of his rookie deal.
On talent alone, Richardson is worth a first-round pick. Teams will know that the Jets want to move Richardson, though, before they lose him in free agency. They'll also be aware of his issues off the field, and there could be some hesitance from teams such as Cleveland in handing out a long-term deal to a player they haven't had in their building. There will be a market for Richardson, but it's more likely to be a second-round pick.
4. Resist the urge to do something significant at quarterback. The Jets have no obvious solution under center, with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith leaving, Bryce Petty struggling and Christian Hackenberg all but disavowed by the organization just one year after being selected in the second round. They're probably not going to be allowed to trade for Garoppolo unless they make some absurd offer, and Romo doesn't really make sense. It also would seem foolish to commit to Deshaun Watson or Mitch Trubisky with their first-round pick out of desperation, although such a selection would be more plausible in the second round.
The Jets probably want to go for a placeholder or someone with moderate upside without committing serious money. The quarterback who stands out there is Mike Glennon, who is an unrestricted free agent and posted an 84.6 passer rating on 630 pass attempts over four seasons with the Buccaneers. Glennon does take too many sacks, but QBR accounts for that and has him at a 58.0 mark, in between Alex Smith and Teddy Bridgewater from 2013 to 2016.
Glennon will cost more than a backup, but the Jets probably won't have to guarantee him a ton of money given the clear path the North Carolina State product would have to a long-term starting gig. If the Jets gave Glennon $8 million for 2017 and tacked on a couple of extra unguaranteed years in the $12-15 million range that they could use if Glennon works out, it could be a logical short-term solution with some hope of it sticking in the years to come.
5. Solve the tight end problem. No NFL team has less to work with and did less with their tight ends than the Jets a year ago. New York's tight ends caught 18 passes in 2016, which sounds awful until you consider that the position group mustered only eight combined catches in 2015. Chan Gailey's offense didn't lend itself to tight end usage, and the Jets wasted a second-round pick on the since-departed Jace Amaro, but they can't sit around and just punt the position for years.
Solving doesn't mean paying top dollar for Bennett, but the Jets can piece together a moderate platoon without spending too much. Luke Willson has flashed as a second tight end in Seattle and could hold some upside in a larger role. Rhett Ellison is an above-average blocking tight end who should be better in 2017 as he gets further away from tearing his patella in January 2016. It's also a great draft for tight ends, with four prospects in Scouts Inc.'s top 50. Whoever ends up at quarterback for Gang Green is going to need some help. A safety valve (or pair of valves) at tight end could go a long way.
