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As we mentioned yesterday, the Jets posted . . .
. . . a Twitter question – “What’s the move in free agency?”
The question was above a video that started with a shot of Joe Douglas and Adam Gase talking on the practice field.
There were quite a few responses calling for the firing of Gase.
For instance, Julio Jr. 2311 tweeted, “Get rid of the coach, (sign) some linemen, cornerbacks and pass rush.”
Steve Bergeman tweeted, “Send Gase to the sun.”
But quite frankly, the question really had nothing to do with Coach Gase. It was related to free agency.
Perhaps they shouldn’t have started the video with a shot of Gase and Douglas, because free agency is all about Douglas. This might have triggered some on Twitter. However, that’s water under the bridge at this point.
Let’s focus on free agency today.
The Jets’ number one need is an edge-rusher. You have to give Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams a lot of credit. He fielded a pretty good defense in most games, sans a dynamic edge-rusher.
You usually need one or two of those kind of guys to have a top-shelf NFL defense. Look what Joey Bosa did for the San Francisco 49ers’ defense.
Going over the free agent edge-rushers, it’s actually not a bad year to be shopping. Here are some of the edge-rushers who could hit the street (if they aren’t re-signed or tagged by their current clubs):
Jadeveon Clowney, Seahawks
Shaq Barrett, Buccaneers
Yannick Ngakoue, Jaguars
Dante Fowler, Rams
Kyle Van Noy, Patriots
Robert Quinn, Cowboys
Bud Dupree, Steelers
Matt Judon, Ravens
Jason Pierre-Paul, Buccaneers
Everson Griffen, Vikings
Ziggy Ansah, Seahawks
Jabaal Sheard, Colts
Vic Beasley, Falcons
Emmanuel Ogbah, Chiefs.
Not bad at all.
There is a lot of talk about the Jets making a run at Judon. They should be careful on this front. He’s a good, not great pass rusher, so the Jets should perhaps avoid paying him megabucks. He’s got a great motor and is very tough, but is a little stiff athletically. The Jets need a freakish athlete with great bend and first step quickness, not an overachiever with average flexibility – they’ve had plenty of those.
Also, the Jets shouldn’t overdue tapping into the Baltimore pipeline they have the building. It’s a good thing that executives like Douglas, Chad Alexander and Phil Savage worked in Baltimore. Learning from Ozzie Newsome is never a bad thing.
However, they should not overplay this hand. They brought in a former Baltimore placekicker for their opener, and that came back to bite them. They signed overaged linebacker Albert McLellan and he got hurt pretty fast and landed on IR. Still not sure why a rebuilding team would sign a 33-year-old linebacker who is mainly a special teams player. They also traded for Baltimore guard Alex Lewis, which wasn’t a bad move, but he got hurt again. Injuries were an issue for him with the Ravens.
Look, I’m not saying that the Jets should sign former Ravens, but don’t become obsessed with it. Be obsessed with the free agents of all 32 NFL teams.
But one thing they should be obsessed with is getting a game-wrecking edge-rusher in the building, whether it’s from free agency or the draft. It’s time for them to stop kicking the can down the road on this need.
February 11, 2020
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