49ers Talking to Leon?
Via ESPN Sacramento yesterday, PFT is confirming a report that the Niners are talking to Leon Washington.
Per a league source, Washington has spoken with the Niners. There is some interest; however, no visit has been scheduled yet.
Other teams are also interested, we’re told. We don’t currently know who they are.
By tendering Washington at a second-round level only, the Jets have invited teams to sniff around the all-purpose tailback. The leg injury could scare some of them away. With the deadline for signing restricted free agents to offer sheets coming eight days before the April 22 draft, it might be that no one will be ready to take a chance on him before it’s too late to do so.
Keels has been mum on the subject, maybe he’s getting more savvy with this stuff.
We’ve asserted that the Jets tender to Leon was a move made to see what interest they could garner for the running back, and so far it seems like it’s been a smart play on their part if they wanted to drum up the option of more draft picks. Currently, the Niners hold the 49th pick in the second round.
108 Responses to 49ers Talking to Leon?
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Pdubbs says:
What 2nd round do the niners have ?
Give us the pick and lets replace Leon for someone who can carry the ball more…..
Peace Alvin Keels you giant TOOL !!!
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Green Lantern says:
Id only let Leon go if we have a chance to get Ryan Matthews.
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We need a RB anyway … they knew if they put a 2nd rounder on Leon , that someone would bite. They def. want him out so they can replace him with a RB in the 2nd round.
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Will says:
If we let Leon Washington go, It will be one of the biggest mistakes in franchise history and will haunt us for years to come
Mark my words
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Brendan says:
Will,
A bit dramatic, are we? We just went to the AFC Championship without Washington, in case your memory is a bit fuzzy.
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Jets baby says:
I love him, but we went far without him. I’d take the draft pick.. He was sub-par on kick returns since they added the wedge rule.
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I agree, let him and his money hungry agent go. I thought Leon liked being a Jet but after hiring Keels and turning down last years contract offer…. I think he is just a Dante Hall…. remember him ? Where does he play now ?
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Shamik says:
FILE A TAMPERING CHARGE!!
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JJets says:
hysteria has hit the blog lol. Do you think they will risk cromartie on specials. Bring back Leon, seeing we only have shonn and we don’t really know what he can do.
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TannyVision says:
Keel is incapable of becoming savvier. Leon’s situation should have given him reason to pause and reassess his hardline stance. He didn’t learn anything based on his incessant tweeting. Tanny offered a pretty fair contract but the kid got screwed out of millions dollars, that he will never recapture, because his agent thought aggressive tweeting was a better approach than less hardline negotiations.
I feel bad for Leon. He is a good person, and player, and a favorite of many. But he will not be the same old Leon for quite some time, if ever. I have no doubt Leon is working hard and will get the most out of his body. What’s left, nobody knows.
Now the market will dictate whether his return, at said salary, is more valuable than a second round pick in a stacked draft.
Either way, good luck Leon.
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Don’t forget also that Brad Smith took over his role in the wildcat and did it just as well, if not better.. ( Pass to cotch). I think Leon is a goner. They may convert Smith too, he’s much more effective as a runner, and he is just not getting the whole receiver thing.
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Hoz,
The reason they did that was because of an injury to leonhard. I just think cromartie maybe a little fragile and don;t want to risk losing a cb# 2 remember the AFC Championship game -
JJets,
None of us know what Leon can do either. We only know what he could have done prior to this injury.
I’m not saying that we should let Leon go, but the medical staff will make a more informed determination on Leon’s value to the Jets, than anyone else, (including Rex and Mike), can.
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B Smith and a second round rb, might be a better option.
Crimetime will not be returning kicks on any regular basis (nor will Revis).
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How do we know if a rb in draft will pan out. I just think we need to resign leon and work on our holes of safety, linebacker, and de in the draft
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GUYS REMEMBER 1 THING, WE SIGNED LARRY TAYLOR THE BEST ST PLAYER IN THE CFL AND HE IS 1 HELL OF A RB…..JUST YOUTUBE HIM….TANNY HAS A PLAN DON’T WORRY
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Hoz.
Where is more information on this larry taylor?
Thanks -
Is Leon better then 49th pick in the draft? I think he is but heres the problem with the 2nd round tender….
The 49th pick might just be enough for the Jets to say….hmmm maybe we can let Leon go and have 2 second rounders.
Now if he would have tendered a 1st rounder at a “little” more money…..its a no brainer to let him walk….now maybe a team dosent bite on the 1st round tender but then you still have Leon on the team.
If he signs an offer sheet with SF… (which is still a long way away from happening) it puts the Jets in a very tough spot.
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EastSide says:
Probably has something to do with Leon’s familiarity with Jimmy Raye who I believe is a coach there now. Because of that relationship, this move could really happen.
If Leon wants to go to a team where their best offensive player is a TE and David Carr is in the mix for the starting QB job, that’s his prerogative. Keels, you are truly one of the worst.
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Look I know Leon broke his leg but he is a special player. i don’t think we can afford to lose leon and tj. plus leon is a playmaker. As a 26 yr old jet fan I have not seen a lot of those
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J JETS
BASSETT HAD A PIECE ON HIM EARLY AFTER THE SEASON ENDED LOOK UP THE ARCHIVES OR YOUTUBE THIS BEAST….IM EXCITED
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john l says:
cotch absolutely positively wants nothing to do with returning punts. before he was our #2 wr he returned punts nicely to make the team but now he does not want to and you can see his production in punt returns droped in the last couple of years. he does not get paid much and does not want to risk 11 guys coming full speed at him and ruining his career and you what i do not blame him one bit!
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****************AND NOW THIS*********************
We had been hearing that Jones was supposed to be in KC on Monday but no news came out of Arrowhead yesterday. If the reports were correct and Jones was in KC yesterday then that means he has been there for 2 days. If that is the case, it sounds like the two camps are trying to hammer out a deal. I would not be shocked if Jones is a Chief by the end of the day. Stay tuned, Addicts
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John l,
Where is that coming from?Hoz,
Thanks. Do you know how old he is? Do you think he makes this team? -
john l,
this is just great. soj -
nelson17 says:
Larry Taylor used to be a kick returner UConn. I watched him return many kicks, he certainly is electric.
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Maybe Jones is just hanging around for the good BBQ over there? ummm no? lol
Piloi is a smart GM…he knows that TJ would be a perfect back to pair with Charles.
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deuce4417 says:
i’m guessing that nobody on here is a doctor? thats what i thought the jets medical staff i’m sure has had leon under a microscope all season through his recovery, so i don’t know about you but i trust their opinion. i LOVE leon but lets face it injuries are injuries and the jets are taking the propor action to protect their franchise.
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so we get rid of jones and leon, sign fargas who failed a physical, shonn greene can be injury prone, and get a rookie who is going to hit the wall, not to mention is richardson coming back.
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sorry to act like the sky is falling but if this is what they are doing I don’t understand how we are better
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t-rich is not comming back
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john l,
do you have that from a source? Apparently next year is going to be the sanchez show -
neauone says:
2nd round pick number 49 YES! ALL DAY BABY! Gephart comes to the gang green.
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all rex wants is an offense that can put up 14 points a game and eat up 38 minutes of the game that’s the coach we have and thats the team he wants……not that there’s anything wrong with that.
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we need rbs to do that, and we are giving up best blocking fb and two rbs in this offseason. gerhardt is a glorified mike alstott
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My take is that the 49ers are going to have to come up with a doozy of a contract — complete with an infamous “poison pill,” a clause that could drastically escalate the value of the contract, to deter the Jets from matching — to pry Washington away. The Jets organization loves him as a player and person and truly believes he’ll make a full recovery from injury.
Even so, I remain surprised the Jets gave Washington only a second-round tender, which invites teams to make a run at him despite his recovery from a career-threatening leg injury. Had the Jets spent another $800,000 and put a first-round tender on Washington ($2.5 million), it would’ve made a team more reluctant to sign Washington.
per hutch -
anybody think we can get a 6th round pick for vernon
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TB says:
How many picks do we now have? A 1,2,4,6,7?
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brian311 says:
i think this would be a mistake – even though getting pick #49 would take the sting off a little i am still absolutely against letting Leon walk
people are acting like the guy is crippled or somthing – yes he had a bad injury but it was a clean break of a bone, no ligament or tendon damage that has been reported. similar players (most notably sproles) have come back from the same injury and been just as explosive
so to me, the injury is irrelevant. at this time last year, if the question of would you trade leon for a 2nd round pick been asked i think the overriding opinion would be NO.
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John l,
I highly doubt all Rex wants from his offense is 14 points. He will take the best offense he can get.
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we would have to give up a first rounder to get rid of gholston
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then why get rid of the best rushing attack in football???
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TB,
We also have a 5th. We switched 4th & 5th rounders with Philly this year. so 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7.
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sjfalcon2001 says:
The draft is still weeks away, stop jumping off the ship! There’s no guarantee that Leon would return to form after his injury and TJ is beginning to show the signs of his age. *I want to keep them*, but losing them is not going to kill us. Towards the end of the season TJ had no burst and hesitated at the line which is why Greene’s runs were so visible.
Also, RB is one of the positions that has a quick learning curve in the NFL. It’s not unusual for a RB to be not only a starter, but an effective one in their first year. One need only look at Greene, Donald Brown, Beanie Wells, and Knowshon Moreno
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brian311
Thanks for making sense. It amazes me how people fall in love with draft picks and forget that the players they have are already a good fit for our team.
Draft picks = crap shoot
Leon (even after the injury) = much better than a 2nd round pick -
so what is the great trader mikes plan? strip of us all our rbs and make trades
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John,
We haven’t. The “best rushing attack in football” starts and ends with the big guys up front. Notice they’re staying intact? The Jets can find bodies to carry the rock 4-5 yards behind the best run-blocking line in the game. They still have their entire passing game intact. Scoring just 14 points?
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hojo3 says:
Maybe Woodhead can return punts in Leon’s place..and we have B Smith…maybe Clowney..he is one of the fastest players in the NFL. I realize there is more to special teams then speed,but all three of those guys have something to offer. Plus we will most likely draft a DB/return guy.
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BigKatt says:
Pick 49 > Leon w/ one good leg
Pick 49 < Leon w/ two good legsOur doctors will determine what goes down
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JJets, step away from the ledge, friend.
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draft picks can be bust member curtis ennis for Chicago. I don’t mind letting jones go but I would want to keep leon if jones is gone
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If Leon Washington isn’t wearing green & white next year, a little piece of me might die inside. Even if we get pick #49 in return, Leon Washingtons don’t come around too often. His injury wasn’t “major” if by “major” we’re talking about joints, knees, etc. I think he’ll come back strong…hopefully for our team.
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Brendan,
Thanks but i am only 26 and am very pessimistic with this team and their thinking. I prob sound like a 60 yr old jet fan. -
alright guy’s gotta go make some dollar’s…..until next time
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also – i dont think you can look at the Leon issue in a vacuum. in a year where we are handcuffed because of the final 8 restrictions, the emphasis was supposed to be retaining our players. so far we have let key proven guys like TJ and Rhodes go for basically nothing. same with wallace wright, a special teams assassin.
i dont like the the thought of adding douglas, T-Rich, leon, and feeley to that list. any of these guys leaving indivudually is not that big a deal – i agree. but when you look at that list collectively, and realize that the only player we’ve added is Cro, i think it is tough to say the FO is improving the team. i am getting very concerned
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JJets,
We’re almost he same age. This team’s core is still intact. It’s going to be ok.
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Drew,
His injury was most definitely a “major” injury.
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Brendan
Thanks for being a voice of reason. It is addicting to slam the jets on this thing lol -
Hey, we all get caught up in it. I mean, these are the Jets we’re talking about.
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Just wanted to point out that any back we put behind our line is going to be a beast.
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bilal says:
How can anyone call Leon’s injury not major? How often do players leave the field with their leg bleeding due to bone pierce through the skin?
I’ve always been the biggest fan of Leon but a second round pick for a explosive player coming off an injury like that is okay with me. I’m sure that if this really does happen the Jets will sign a veteran RB.
Like someone else mentioned the key to our running game was the offensive line. If TJ really does sign with the chiefs his production will decrease big time especially with Jamal Charles coming on.
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also just a point the offensive line is awesome but getting a little old. I don’t think any rb can go behind a line and be great.
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Brendan — Drew is correct in that you cannot compare Leon’s injury to a joint(hip/knee/ankle) injury that involves ligament damage. He should heal 100% and have no long-term issues for the future.
Those of you that call Leon and his agent greedy, remember that it was the Jets that put the second round tag on him(limiting his compensation). The Chargers tagged Sproles with a 1st AND 3rd round tag.
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mole57 says:
49ers are not huge spenders. If Leon is not damaged goods, the Jets will match. But the big IF is whether any team can come up with a contract that is to Keels’ liking. The 2nd round tender was more about Keels than Leon. The Jets would love for Leon to sign an offer sheet so they can just match it and be done with Keels.
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alex morizio says:
Brendan,
i’m a medical doctor….it’s a clean bone break. definitely a serious injury. balance and shiftiness will be affected.
it’s a crap shoot for sure giving him up. the #49 pick could be extremely valuable though. but the jets do need a 3rd down back to be a safety valve. it would be a tough loss. but, there are plenty of good backs in this draft. just a thought.
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Dylan says:
I don’t think its fair to call Leon greedy. He has played 4 years on his rookie contract. He played and didn’t complain last season, even though he wanted and deserved a new deal. He is going to be 28 next season so he is most likely only going to get one big payday before he retires. Its his agents job to give him the biggest deal he can get. Leon shouldn’t have to settle for less money than he is worth. If a team is willing to pay him more money than the Jets, than thats where he should sign. Its not like he has racked up 10 mil over his career. He doesn’t have the financial freedom to just sign wherever he wants and not worry about the money.
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I think Brendan gets the point it is a serious injury
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Thomas Jones on the other hand could definitely afford to take a paycut to come back.
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Alex,
I was actually calling people out for saying Leon’s injury is minor. For people to think that snapping the lower half of your leg is minor, I suggest asking someone who have had to deal with it.
This injury is not to be confused with the one Darren Sproles went through. Sproles only broke the fibula, which is the smaller of the two “shin bones” or bones that, together, comprise the lower portion of your leg. Leon, on the other hand, broke his fibula as well as his tibia, which is the larger, weight-bearing bone. Leon went through a much more serious injury.
And as Alex points out, the biggest part of Leon’s game that will be affected is his ability to stop on a dime, change direction, cut…basically what makes him unique and valuable, are in jeopardy.
I’m an optimist, so I feel he can come back and be a good player again, but it’s not like he sprained an ankle or broke his wrist. This is a very serious injury for the position he plays and for his most valuable attributes as a palyer.
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We gotta sign Vargas, even if Leon stays. A backfield of War Machine, JV, and Leon or the most explosive RB at #49 would be awesome behind the NFL’s best line.
Not to mention that i feel like we are going to be shying away from last years “Ground and Pound” mantra. I think Sanchez is gonna go off this year. I feel like no one has even talked about Marky Mark this whole offseason.
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Without a joint injury there should be no long-term impact on Leon’s play.
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spin-
Why do you keep saying this as fact? Can you at least try to explain why? maybe give an example of a player?BiggKatt- Im all for signing Fargas too. hes a big downhill runner, i know people will probably throw a temper tantrum here but I feel he is talented enough to have gained 1400 yards last year on this line.
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don’t forget we’re talking about a running back here. they take a pounding day in and day out. its a crap shoot every yr who your starter is going to be 6 games into the season. the name of the game in the nfl is depth now. stock up you backfield with guys that can do multiple things
green= all around runner
c.washington= power back
woodhead= check down shifty runnerif leon comes back you just add him to that list
ps: there is no way we don’t add another back to our team in this draft or before training camp
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BigKatt,
My biggest concern coming into this offseason wasn’t losing or gaining players. It had nothing to do with personnel. It was “are the Jets going to make the same mistake that Atlanta & Baltimore made?”
Baltimore and Atlanta went on similar paths as the Jets last year, making the playoffs with a rookie QB. But what both teams did this season was put more responsibility on their QBs.
Not to say that the Jets should keep Sanchez on his leash. I think they HAVE to open up the playbook if for no other reason than to keep teams honest. But what happened with Flacco & Ryan was obvious early in the season. They were passing too much and the teams struggled. Once both teams realized they were foolish for putting too much on their young guns’ shoulders they scaled back the passing and ran more. And both teams did better.
I just don’t want the Jets to put TOO much of the onus on their young QB.
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Spindoctor, that just is not true.
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freddys dead says:
maybe with 2nd rounders we can trade up for berry. but might not be a good move since this team is just creating more and more holes.
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spindoctor – you’re the only one who actually read my post the way it was intended.
Brendan – I said his injury wasn’t “major” if by “major” we’re talking about joints, knees, etc. I’m not downplaying the severity of a compound fracture–let’s be real. Of course that type of injury is severe, and as the real Dr. pointed out, he’ll have difficulty with his balance and shiftiness.
However, it’s a bone break, and bones can heal stronger than they were originally. Once LW is 100% fully, completely healed and rehabilitated, he’ll have a much better chance of becoming what he was–shiftiness and all–opposed to players who suffer major knee injuries (ligament tears)
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Zartan says:
john l, Cotchery had a better than avg. punt return# , i think you should check the stats.
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Bilal — Bones are just bones. Joints(hips/knees/ankles) are involved in mobilty, flexibility, balance, speed, etc. Joint injuries heal with scar tissue that can limit activity, predispose to future injury, and lead to arthritis. I am not an orthopedist but I am a surgeon. If there is a orthopedist out there, I will defer to his or her expertise.
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This should put the matter to rest (for now, at least).
Beat writer Matt Maiocco hears the 49ers have not shown interest in Ravens OT Jared Gaither or restricted free agent Leon Washington.
The Gaither speculation was shot down immediately, and Maiocco has heard nothing about a reported interest in Washington. The Niners, like most teams, are leery of paying an above-market contract while also handing over an early-round draft pick.Furthermore, according to Hutch: “The organization loves him as a player and person and truly believes he’ll make a full recovery,” explained Hutchinson. While he does concede that the Jets could lose Washington to a “poison pill” contract, that’s a highly unlikely scenario.
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Drew & Spin,
If his bones were going to heal as good as new why does he have a lower leg littered with screws? It’s not realistic to assume he’ll be 100% because he broke a bone. If you break a femur, you’re never the same. A hip is a bone, break it and see how close your new movement is to your old one. It’s just not as simple as “bones heal, he’s fine!”
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jkjet64 says:
Guys,
I’m not a Doctor but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express! lol
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I don’t think anyone will know until Leon actually gets out there so this should be a mute point right now
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Brendan – i totally agree with you on that front. While i do think, as do you it seems, that 6 is gonna have a little more freedom/responsibility, I still believe that we’re going to lead the lead in rushing again. I definitely think that Rex/Schotty are going to look at how Bmore/ATL handled things with their sophomore QB’s and realize they can’t put too much on Sanchez. I still think he’s going to have a big year though, not a pro bowl year, but a big one. And he won’t even be able to go to the pro bowl any way, because we’re going to the ‘ship this year.
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Harlan Lachman says:
Kewpie to Mole who is the only poster who gets it.
The reason for only the second round tender is to expose Keels and to force Leon to learn his actula market value.
We want to encourage someone to make an offer. A first round tender would have discouraged an offer. The second encourages one.
If Leon signs, it will likely be for a lot less than we offered last year. Keels screwed him; but Leon listened to Keels.
Either he comes back for the tender offer (a lot less than we offered last year) or we can decide to match another team’s offer. My guess is that we take a 2nd instead only if it is from a team with a very early second round pick or if another team does something really stupid like offering Leon Sprowles’ money.
The market does not seem to be moving in that direction though.
In a month or less we will find out for sure.
harlan
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Harlan,
I do think that could be the case. But there’s also a chance the Jets think he might be damaged goods also, no?
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Brendan – I totally agree with you on that front. I still think that we are gonna lead the league in rushing (not only yards but attempts too), but like you said, we need to open up the playbook to keep other teams from stacking the box on us. Especially after losing TJ and possibly Leon, i don’t want to have a second year player (WM), a recently released vet (Vargas, Fast Willie, B West, whoever Tanny brings in) and a rookie RB running against 8 in the box. If Sanchez can become a true threat to opposing D’s, which i believe he most definitely will, our ground game just gets that much better.
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Scott says:
I think this is a great strategy imployed by the Jets… by forcing another team to offer him the L/T deal he’s been looking for, the Jets can sit back, evaluate the deal, and either match it, or, if they decide it’s too much money, they can let him walk and obtain another 2nd round pick.
I love Leon as a player and leader, but he was asking for way to much money prior to his injury. It would hurt to lose him, especially with TJ gone, but that extra 2nd rounder would’nt be too bad either.
Another thing… Mangold, Revis, D’Brick, Harris, Edwards, Cromartie (and potentially others) will all be looking at new contracts next season… $4.5mm a season to a part-time RB (allbeit an explosive talent) coming off a broken leg, isn’t necesarilly the best way to budget the bank.
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Organized Chaos says:
Take him for a second and no one mentioned the money aspect. The team has been saving money all offseason and letting Leon go would avoid a massive contract (because of keels) they would have to pay or they would just see Leon leave on his own next year. Take a second round pick in a deep draft and keep the money you would have to pay Leon and pay Revis Mangold Dbrick and Harris
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Scott – you hit the nail on the head with that one brother
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Eddie DiGio says:
Unless another team just breaks the bank with an offer to Leon, if they let him walk with a competitive offer out there, its just plain dumb
I loved the way the offseason started but Im not to happy with what has happened since then
A team that was 30 mins from the Super Bowl and more holes have been made then filled
Just hoping and praying that there is a plan behind all the moves Tanny has made so far
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@ Eddie DiGio
Why so down? We lost Rhodes… he’s a wuss and wanted out anyway… he would have turned into a Kendall/ Baker/ Coles situation which is what we don’t need… plus, we still have Leonhard, Smith and Digs, as well as Lowery, who was projected as a NFL caliber safety.
TJ’s 32 and was looking at $5.8mm this year alone, and wanted another 3-4 year deal worth $3-4mm p/ year… No Way!
Nobody knows how Leon will be rebounding this year, so we’ll let the market dictate whether or not he comes back.
And we’ve gained a lock-down corner in Cromartie.
The only move that really irked me so far is letting Wallace Wright get away; but, as a special teamer, he would have been too expensive anyway.
Cheer up… Trader Mike will make it all better!
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jetfaninla says:
I read the first 10 comments then just skipped to the bottom so sorry for probably adding something already said:
For a 2nd, I’d trade Leon. If I thought he would be the Leon of old, I absolutely wouldn’t. However, I would be shocked if Leon came back from his injury the same (or better) than before.
And of course my analysis is based on the ZERO classes I’ve taken on anything on the human body, but I’m trying to learn as much as I can from the sport articles.
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WOJF says:
They should take the 2nd to use as comp for signing another RFA, possibly Landry S BAL.
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Cimini and Hutch are reporting the Jets will match for Leon
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JesusRevis says:
JJets,
reporting where?
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J-E-T-S says:
i REALLY think letting Leon Washington go is a HORRENDOUS idea.
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Scott
I guess we all have our moments of doubt…
Im one of the biggest green Kool Aid drinking guys around and I guess I just thought with the uncapped year we’d have everything locked up and go into the draft just looking to add more firepower on defense…but then again I dont write the players check or know what Woody’s bottom line
I really can almost see the shine on the Lombardi Trophy with this team and this coach…
But you are right in the sense that Mike T and Rex probably have this all thought out on where they going next or how the guys we do have are going to be used.
Dont worry, we get a pass rusher via trade, FA or the draft, Ill be a happy go lucky idiot again…lol
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Max says:
The 49rs are just “window” shopping at this time. So, will other teams. The biggest question about Leon is his recovery from the horrendous leg injury he suffered in Oakland. If you catch any comments from the players about the injury – it wasn’t pretty at all (bone was protruding out). To those who say he will be the same old Leon – I tend to doubt it. If you think so, then just call Joe Theisman and ask him how his career progress after he suffered his devastating leg injury.
Bassett,
What happens if the tender deadline passes…does he then become an untendered UFA, or does he have to accept the tender?