’Tis the season
Jets seek win-now options
Woody Johnson made things clear about a month ago in Las Vegas: The 2024 season is door-die for general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh.
That season essentially starts now as Douglas dives into free agency and attempts to plug some of the holes on a roster that went 7-10 last season. The negotiating window opens at noon Monday, allowing teams to contact the agents for players who are going to be free agents.
There is usually a flurry of agreements Monday afternoon into Tuesday. By 4 p.m. on Wednesday when contracts can become officially signed, we are usually through the first wave of free agency.
The question for the Jets is how active they will be in the early hours of free agency, when the dollars are flowing and players get overpaid. They have been burned in the first wave before. Douglas could opt to wait until the second wave starts and bargains can be found.
The Jets know they have a short window to win. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be 41 in December, and Johnson is clearly out of patience with the team’s playoff drought at 13 seasons.
“The discussions I’ve had in the last couple of months, they’ve seen me about as mad as I can be, with what was going on with the offense particularly,” Johnson said at NFL Honors last month. “We’ve got all this talent, and we’ve got to deploy talent properly. I think they all got the message. This is it. This is the time to go. We’ve got to produce this year. We have to produce this year.”
The Jets have about $26 million in salary-cap space and can create more with contract restructures if they need it. While the outside world focuses on cap space, the more important question is how much cash Johnson is willing to spend. The Jets were fourth in the NFL in cash spending last year. Will Johnson want to throw money around again or will he give Douglas a tighter budget? We should know by the end of this week.
There is no mystery about what the areas of need are. They have just two starters returning along the offensive line. Alijah Vera-Tucker is coming off an Achilles tear, and Joe Tippmann is entering his second season. Douglas has to find three starters to go with them. He likely will draft a tackle with the No. 10-overall pick, but he should add two players in free agency.
At tackle, Tyron Smith is one of the top options, but the longtime Cowboys star is 33 years old and has a history of injuries. The Bengals’ Jonah Williams is also at the top of the market, but there are questions about him.
A safer route for Douglas might be signing two guards and moving Vera-Tucker to tackle. Robert Hunt, Jonah Jackson and Mike Onwenu are at the top of the guard market. There are bargains to be had with Damien Lewis, Jon Runyan and Kevin Zeitler.
Besides fixing the line, Douglas also needs to add a No. 2 wide receiver to complement Garrett Wilson. The receiver market has dried up some with franchise tags and long-term contracts getting handed out. Still, expect the Jets to come away with someone at this position. Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown and Darnell Mooney are at the top of the market. The Bengals’ Tyler Boyd could make sense and should not break the bank.
The Jets also must address their own free agents. It looks like edge rusher Bryce Huff is going to hit the market. The Jets want him back, but he might be too expensive. Huff is expected to generate a lot of interest, and if his price tag gets north of $15 million, the Jets might be willing to let him walk.
Kicker Greg Zuerlein and punter Thomas Morstead are also priorities to re-sign.
Finally, Douglas needs to address the backup quarterback spot. Ryan Tannehill, Gardner Minshew, Jacoby Brissett and Tyrod Taylor are all possibilities to back up Rodgers.