For the Jets, it’s time for Joe.
General manager Joe Douglas spent his first year and a half with the team trying to settle bad contracts and acquire start-up capital to rebuild. Now, it’s time to stop planning and start doing.
The Jets enter the free agency with the NFL’s second highest salary cap, $ 69.2 million. His squad is full of holes that appeared every week in a 2-14 season last year. Douglas wants to build from scratch, but he can’t fill all the holes that way. He will have to connect some via a free agency, which starts Monday, when teams and agents can start negotiating. Players cannot officially sign in until 4pm on Wednesday.
The Jets could be a big hit at the start of the free agency, but don’t expect a surge in spending like two years ago, when former GM Mike Maccagnan hired CJ Mosley, Le’Veon Bell and Jamison Crowder for big deals. Douglas will attack when he sees value, but he will not overpay.
“Obviously, we are better positioned than we were last year,” said Douglas. “I would say that our philosophy and posture have not changed, however. I think our objective and our plan is to be, as I said before, a team that really builds this through the draft and getting the draft right, obviously using the free agency to complement our list. If the opportunity and the value meet, this will be the point where we will be aggressive and get someone for whom we feel good, helping this team not only in the field, but with the culture and inside the building. Although we are better positioned, I think our philosophy has remained the same. “
Douglas learned from Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, who rarely spends on a free agency. This is the system that Douglas wants to emulate. However, he also knows that he needs to give some players to new coach Robert Saleh.
Fans should not expect Jets to spend every dollar of space available. They must set aside money for their nine draft choices, for spending on the season, and they will want to keep some limit space to roll over next year.
While we always focus on the space limit, actual spending on money is also a big consideration. For example, the Jets’ two choices in the first round will receive about $ 30 million in signing bonuses. Douglas should take this into account in the equation when deciding how much to spend at the free agency.
That said, Douglas has the Jets well positioned to attack for the players they consider to be values, and there should be a few this year, with the salary cap decreasing and some teams finding themselves in trouble.
Edge rusher is a position to observe the Jets. They haven’t had a dominant since John Abraham left in 2006. Players like Shaquil Barrett of the Buccaneers, Yannick Ngakoue of the Ravens, Matthew Judon of the Ravens and Trey Hendrickson of the Saints could have been branded as a franchise in other years. But now they are hitting the market, and the Jets may be looking for two edge pushers to help defend Saleh.
Wide receiver is a similar position. Lions have not used the franchise brand on Kenny Golladay, and he will be the biggest recipient on the market. It may be too expensive for the Jets, but there are other good receivers out there, like Will Fuller, from Texans, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, from Steelers.
Whether the quarterback is Sam Darnold, Zach Wilson or Joe Namath in 2021, he will need a few more targets to shoot.
The Jets’ offensive line has also been a weakness recently, but the team hopes the change of coach will improve it. They are happy with tackles Mekhi Becton and George Fant, as well as central Connor McGovern. They can look for an upgrade in the guard, where Joe Thuney of the Patriots can be a target. The Jets would have attacked Thuney last year if New England had not used the franchise brand on it. The Jets are interested in Thuney again this year, but will be cautious if a bidding war breaks out.
As for other areas of need, such as cornerback and running back, this class of free agent is weaker, and the Jets are likely to wait until the draft fills those holes.
“I think Joe and his team did an incredible job in setting up the organization,” said Saleh. “Now it’s just a matter of putting the pieces together and having fun doing it.”