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The Jets have a great opportunity the next two years.
Why?
Because their first-round quarterback is still on his rookie contract.
This was a huge advantage for the Kansas City Chiefs this year. They were able to spend money to surround Patrick Mahomes with a lot of quality talent. Mahome is still on his rookie deal.
Once you give your quarterback, if he pans out, that second contract, it restricts what you can do at other positions.
The Seattle Seahawks are a perfect example of that.
By having to pay Russell Wilson $35 million-a-year in 2019, it restricted what they could do at other positions.
For instance, they lost defensive end Frank Clark in free agency to Kansas City.
And this an example of why the Chiefs were in the catbird seat this year in terms of the salary cap and roster building.
They haven’t had to pay Mahomes his second deal yet, which will probably be close to $40 million- a-year. Once they do that, signing free agents like Clark to big money deals will be very difficult.
Look at the Los Angeles Rams. Their roster was pretty loaded in 2018-19, and they made it to the Super Bowl.
After the 2019 season, they ripped up Jared Goff’s rookie deal, which still had time left, and gave him $34 million-a-year, and they ended up letting some other key players walk in free agency, and had to let others walk as cap casualties. They didn’t make the playoffs this year. Goff is a good, not great QB, and he needs a strong supporting cast to succeed.
So the point here is simple. The Jets have a couple of years left on Darnold’s rookie deal before they have to to consider giving him a monster deal in that $35-40 million range?
So the next couple of years are a golden opportunity for them to take advantage of their quarterback’s low cap number, to add key players at other positions, and make a run, before having to pay the piper.
But they have to do a better job of spending the money than they have in recent years. The Darrelle Revis (when he came back) and Trumaine Johnson deals are examples of wasting money when you have extra cap space.
I just don’t see Joe Douglas doing that, spending like a drunken sailor. He knows better. He will spend on free agents, but not do things like spend a boatload on money on speed-challenged corners. Both of this deals in retrospect were terribly reckless.
If Douglas plays his cards right, and signs the right guys in free agency. at the right price, and drafts well, the Jets are certainly in a position to shock some people in the next couple of years.
Once again, because they have not had to pay the QB yet.
Now some might argue that if the Jets’ quarterback, who has a world of talent, doesn’t improve his progressive scans and become a full-field reader, maybe they don’t give him that monster contract in a couple of years.
But hey, he’s only 22, you’d have to think he’s going to continue to travel up the growth curve.
And while he’s doing that, especially the next two years, the Jets have an opportunity to spread the wealth and give him the quality support around him he needs.
January 23, 2020
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