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It was a move that was a head-scratcher to me . . .
On Sunday, the Jets traded cornerback Dexter McDougle to the Philadelphia Eagles for safety Terrence Brooks.
I don’t get this one at all.
Let me explain.
The lightbulb came on for McDougle this summer. So why trade a solid cornerback (who are hard to find) when his arrow is pointing up?
McDougle had a good camp and was solid in the first three preseason games.
Look, I’m not making McDougle into Darrelle Revis in his prime, but I think this trade was misguided.
The Jets #1 corner, Mo Claiborne, is hurt again. He missed 35 games in five years in Dallas due to injuries, and now he’s nursing a shoulder injury.
So that is one reason you shouldn’t trade a corner. Your #1 cornerback has a history of durability issues.
But after Claiborne, you have three corners in the Jets’ pecking order, who were all inconsistent this summer. I’m talking about Buster Skrine, Justin Burris and Daryl Roberts. They were all uneven in training camp. And Skrine’s first two seasons with the Jets were rough. Some are surprised he’s still with the team.
So you have a #1 corner who is hurt, and the next three who are inconsistent, and you trade a corner who is
ascending?
This makes no sense to me.
But I think the Jets made up their minds about who their top four corners were going to be entering camp – Claiborne, Burris, Roberts and Skrine. And obviously nothing was going to move them off this position.
I round it perplexing why the Jets really never gave McDougle a chance to supplant any of these guys this summer, especially Burris, Roberts and Skrine. I asked Todd Bowles last week if there was a competition for spots 2-4 (we all know Claiborne was going to be the #1 CB), and he said to me there was competition.
But I saw no evidence of this in terms of the reps in camp. McDougle always came in with the second and third team defensive backfields. I never saw him with the starters for a look-see.
I think their minds were made up.
And I think McDougle was better this summer than at least one or two of the aforementioned players.
Here is another issue with making this trade.
The Jets have a fourth preseason game coming up. A lot of the cornerbacks on their roster are going to have to play in this contest. Cornerbacks get dinged all the time. What if they get a couple of cornerback injuries against the Eagles, then how is this trade going to look?
If you are inclined to make this trade, why not wait until after the fourth preseason game, and make sure you get through it okay at cornerback?
And the player they got in return for McDougle, safety Terrence Brooks, is now on his third team, so clearly there is something amiss with him. Word on the street is that he didn’t do a good job picking up the scheme in Baltimore, so he doesn’t sound like the kind of guy you want to bring in late and give a crash course on your system?
I don’t get this trade at all.
August 30, 2017
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