With free agency just about two months away, Tim Graham of ESPN writes that the Jets will have a lot on their plate from a restricted free agent standpoint. Graham notes that this year will be special because of the potential CBA issues which would trigger an uncapped year. In this case, “players can’t become unrestricted free agents in an uncapped year unless they have six years of NFL experience. The usual minimum is four years.”
So who for the Jets would be in this predicament?
QB Kellen Clemens
CB Drew Coleman
WR Braylon Edwards
DT Howard Green
OT Wayne Hunter
WR Brad Smith
S Eric Smith
RB Leon Washington
While Ferguson and Mangold were rookies with many of these guys, they also signed longer deals (five years for Mangold, six for D’Brick), as first rounders usually do .. which explains why Edwards, a 2005 rookie, is in this mix here. So although the Jets might address Mangold’s contract in the coming year, they’re not under the gun to do so just yet.
Since I started blogging about the Jets in 2004, I think that this is hands-down the best RFA class that the team has had in that time. In that list of eight players, there’s really only one maybe two guys that I think the Jets won’t try their hardest to keep around. My thought would be that Kellen Clemens and Drew Coleman would be likely candidates as guys the team doesn’t feel compelled to go forward with, but it’s hard to say exactly what the team will do. Their primary concern will of course be Washington and Edwards, and the rest will have to fall into place after that. What I would say is that it’s the strength of some of the middle guys as contributors (not necessarily starters) that makes this class so unique.
Interestingly, the Smiths have both played themselves from the “meh, don’t let the door hit you on the way out” list on to the “Hmm … maybe we should keep this guy” list.
What type of contracts are those guys going to be able to get? Honestly, I haven no idea … 3 year deals maybe?
R – Neither figures to be that expensive. Don’t forget they can sign them to a cheap one year tender and get draft pick compensation if a team offers them a deal they choose not to match. They can therefore let other teams set the market and control their rights.
and rfa draft pick compensation is very expensive depending on the tender… 1′s & 2′s.
anyone on that list you dont want to go anywhere, wont. the year after they would all be ufa’s, with deals pending for brick, mangold and revis which could be a real problem.
but i have a feeling there’ll be a lockout after next year as millionaires fight over spliting up billions.
keeping B. Smith should be the 3rd priority after Leon & Braylon. Smith is a guy who was getting a lot of flak on this blog earlier this year but (as I repeatedly pointed out – and this is one of the very few times I’ve been right!) has proved invaluable both as a special teamer and with the gadget plays. He may never be more than a 4th/5th wr but he has made some huge plays for us this year.
BSmith is no more than a 2nd string Leon Washington. All of those plays will go to Leon, and will be done better.
Yes, he is a good special teams player, and may be worth keeping for these roles. However, I do think Eric Smith is the more important RFA here.
(Obviously Braylon and Leon are a MUST)
I would agree, everyone else on that list is replaceable but I would definitely keep Brad Smith. I think a 3 year deal worth 4 million is fair.
I think Green becomes expendable if Jenkins comes back 100%, mainly due to the emergence of Po. I also think Coleman would be nice to have around for depth, he’s actually made a few plays this year under Rex. My order of importance:
Edwards
Washington
B. Smith
E. Smith
Hunter
Coleman
Green
Clemens
No love for Clemens?
A serious question: are you sure Edwards has shown enough to warrant the money he will want? I haven’t seen all that much from him. Yes some very big plays. But also some drops. (Of course, how much is due to a rookie quarterback who is struggling?) I’m not ure how much should be invested in hi,
Still lukewarm on Edwards. I’d really love to see the Jets get a consistent WR that Sanchez can rely on as his go-to man throughout his career. Think Unitas-Berry, Young-Rice, Aikman-Irvin, Manning-Harrison…
PA Matt, I would argue that B. Smith does in fact bring a dissimilar skill set to the table in comparison to Leon. Leon is much more shifty and “agile” while Smith has apparently incredible straight line speed. Leon can hide behind blockers but Smith can use his extra height to make jump ball plays. Leon’s KRs haven’t been the same since the no-wedge rule was established and I have my doubts that he could have ran back Smith’s 106 yarder.
That kickoff was beautifully blocked. Pretty sure Leon would have scored on it too.
They have to retain Braylon. He’s a proper deep threat, isn’t dropping the ball any more and has a rare size and speed combination that is never going to be upgraded cost effectively. The running game is better, not just because of the threat he provides, but also because he blocks so well. If he asks for 10m then that’s a different story, but if anyone gives him it, the picks they get as compensation will easily exceed what they gave up to get him.
kc is bye bye
I’m with bent, but edwards demands make me worried given his expectations and level of performance.
No way is he in the same bracket as Fitzgerald, johnson and wayne
In fact he may not even be in the next group including moss,welker,marshall,white and jackson.
But he fits what the team needs very nicely, and i do think he’s worth 6 mill a season, but will he be happy with that or demand in the 9 mill range ??
Hey Fatty, I agree 100% no more than 6 mill a year.
get your wallets out. we gotta resign at least half of em
my question is who is going to be available from other teams that might interest Rex.. id like to hear some big names but really im more interested to hear what kind of good roster fillers out there that will make a difference on this team….
sackexchange – Since many would-be UFAs are restricted due to the uncapped year (assuming there is one), the pool of young talent is thin. Look for some more experienced players to be targetted around the league, although the Cowboys and Redskins might be prepared to offer more money than other teams. I expect the Jets to devote most of their resources to locking up existing talent and add guys through the draft or cheap veterans in their thirties.
With that said, if the Pats dump Adalius Thomas, he’s an obvious one for them to target.
i would resign:
braylon edwards
eric smith
brad smith
leon washington
let go:
kellen clemens
howard green
drew coleman
hunter either way
washington and edwards is important to resign and the smiths have made strides this yr as well. hunter and howard can be replaced depending on the crop of this yrs draft class, clemens is terrible and drew coleman hasnt seen enough time to keep him, or done anyuthing special for the jets to want to keep him.
Merriman and Dumervill are UFAs who would be RFAs if there is no CBA. It may be a pipe dream to get either, but a pass-rushing WILL/DE hybrid would complete this defense. Like Bent said, Adalius Thomas is more likely, but imagine having either Dumervill or Merriman? The Jets’ defense would be dominant.
How about Adalius and Seymour? You think both of them are versatile enough to switch sides?(Adalius To The Left and Richard To The Right)
we gotta resign braylon. he’s becoming a good leader for this team and brad smith is turning into a serious game changer. eric smith i could let him go. we need a safety as it is cause we’re gonna trade rhodes and from what i’ve seen on espn and other draft sites that there are dome good safeties in this draft. leon is a different story cause he used to be one of the great game changers but because of how seriousthis injury is i wouldn’t sign him now. i would wait as long as i could to see how his recovery is coming along.
I have no doubts that Leon will be back to form again, and I think he deserves to get a good contract. I think that Braylon has really become such a huge team player, with all of his excellent run blocks. I doubt very much they’ll trade Rhodes at this point. I know he’s had his ups and downs but I think him and Rex have come to an understanding, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him next season. As far as the Smiths, I really don’t see how you can get rid of either one. Eric may not have the same skill set as Kerry Rhodes, but he wants it more, and having heart is so important in football. Brad is such a great team player and has such a good skill set, and I think his work out of the wildcat, (or as I heard him say the “TigerCat”) has been even more effective than Leon’s was in the Seminole. I think they’ll will probably get rid of Kellen and bring in a Veteran of some sort, whether it be the rumored Jason Campbell or someone else. I really have no strong opinions of Hunter or Coleman, I think they’ve done everything thats asked of them. As far as Green is concerned, I think he’s done great work in helping fill the shoes of Kris Jenkins, whether or not they need him when Jenkins returns is the bigger question.