NO SNAP DECISION
Jets still have massive hole at center
The Jets believe they landed a few impactful free agents during the initial frenzy last week, but it’s undeniable that there is one giant hole in the middle of their re-tooled offense.
Adam Gase is staring at a donut. And not the tasty kind with sprinkles, either.
For all of Sam Darnold’s promise and Le’Veon Bell’s greatness, Gang Green still needs an anchor for its offensive line.
What exactly are these guys doing at center?
The Jets began free agency with a mountain of salary-cap space to burn, but failed to address a massive need that could have been solved in free agency.
There’s no reason to sugarcoat it: General manager Mike Maccagnan & Co. whiffed.
I’ve heaped plenty of praise on the Jets’ ability to secure the single best player in this free agency class, a perennial Pro Bowl linebacker in his prime in C.J. Mosley (even though they clearly overpaid for a two-down linebacker who isn’t effective in coverage) and a sneaky-good slot receiver in Jamison Crowder. Maccagnan’s buy-low trade for Pro Bowl guard Kelechi Osemele absolutely should be lauded as well.
However, it’s inexcusable not to address the center position, given that it could have been easily rectified last week. The Jets, in fact, never even made an offer for the top two centers on the market, according to sources. They currently have $35.46 million in remaining salary-cap space, so that’s not an issue.
The Jets had discussions with Mitch Morse’s and Matt Paradis’ respective camps, but didn’t fork over a concrete deal. Gang Green liked Morse, but never really had a chance to land him for myriad reasons.
The Bills, frankly, were much more aggressive in their pursuit of the former Chiefs center. Morse quickly agreed to a fourBufmillion year, $44.5 million deal with falo that included $20.4 guaranteed at signing. The firstMorse year cash: $19.5 million. will earn $28.375 million in cash through two years. He’ll have a $10.9 million salary-cap charge in 2019.
My understanding is that the Jets’ ceiling was the $10 million per season neighborhood, but they weren’t nearly as aggressive as their AFC East rivals to land him. The Jets never believed that they had a real chance to get him. They didn’t exactly have a sense of urgency for some rea-
son.
Paradis, rehabbing from a broken fibula suffered in November with the Broncos, ultimately agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal with Carolina that included a $9 million signing bonus. The Jets had talks with his camp, but there was some concern inside the building about his health and availability this offseason. John Elway expressed similar concerns last week. Paradis played 3,850 consecutive snaps before getting hurt. He’ll carry a $3.86 million cap charge this season.
The Jets agreed to a two-year deal with Jonotthan Harrison, who started the final seven games at center last season after replacing an injured and ineffective Spencer Long. The Jets’ thought process: Harrison might be able to compete for a starting job (if they whiffed on Morse and Paradis), but the preference on One Jets Drive was that he’d be a valuable, versatile backup with the ability to help at center and guard. (There’s an easy escape hatch after 2019 if they wanted to move on from him).
After missing on Morse and Paradis, the Jets started kicking the tires late last week on available veteran linemen to gauge the market value for these guys, according to sources.
There are some quality options in the draft, like North Carolina’s Garrett Bradbury, Texas A&M’s Erik McCoy and Mississippi State’s Elgton Jenkins, but at least one of those guys will be gone in the second round. And in case you missed it, the Jets currently don’t have a second-round pick.
Could Maccagnan draft a center with one of their two third-rounders? Possibly.
The bottom line is that a good center is invaluable for a young quarterback. One year after the Jets erred by signing Long in free agency, they didn’t have a sense of urgency to land one of the top two centers in free agency. It’s puzzling.
The Jets wanted to give Sam Darnold a better supporting cast in his second season, but they’re still missing the guy who will give their franchise quarterback the ball on every single play.