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It’s never been a lack of financial commitment.
I touched on this a little the other day.
The Jets’ issues over the years with the current ownership was never related to the pulling of purse strings.
“Thankfully with the Johnson family, they are unlimited in what they want to do and what they want to give,” said Jets coach Robert Saleh.
And aside from first-class facilities, this applies to player salaries. They spent around $75 million in free agency this off-season, and $200 million in 2019 (not totally wisely, but they spent it).
“The investments that they’re making with regards to free agency, it’s an unlimited deal,” Saleh said. “There’s a tremendous support system there.”
And another example of that this year was with salaries for a couple of the top undrafted free agent players. Some might not be aware of this, but there is often a bidding war for “priority undrafted free agents.” These are players who easily could have been drafted, but fell through the cracks for whatever reason.
They went hard after undrafted free agent players like Ole Miss tight end Kenny Yeboah and Oregon State cornerback Isaiah Dunn.
The Jets guaranteed $180,000 of Yeboah’s contract and also gave him a $20,000 signing bonus. So he goes home with $200,000 even if he doesn’t make the team.
According to reporter Aaron Wilson, Dunn got $160,000 guaranteed and a $25,000 signing bonus.
Not all teams do this.
Sometimes, it benefits a player to NOT get picked in the sixth or seventh round, and be able to pick a location after the draft. Yeboah was in demand, and was a able to have more say in where they signed by not getting drafted, and picked a team that didn’t select a tight end, and also is an hour from his hometown of Allentown, PA. The Jets’ Florham Park training facility isn’t far from the Pennsylvania border.
Yeboah’s a fast tight end who can take the top off a defense. He probably slipped because he’s built more like an over-sized receiver, and is very lean in the lower body, which limits his push in the running game, but he can be a good “move” tight end, an H-Back, if you will, for the Jets.
As for Dunn, we all know the Jets need corners, and while they did pick three late in the draft, the chances of three late round corners all working out is a long-shot. So the Jets need to keep being aggressive looking for answers at this position, so they made a bee-line for Dunn after the draft.
I found it interesting that when Gil Brandt of NFL.com ranked the top 15 undrafted free agent corners after the draft concluded, Dunn wasn’t on the list.
Dunn blazed a 4.39 forty at Oregon State’s Pro Day, which according to Sportspac12.com, was the fastest forty time registered by a player at any Pac-12 Pro Day this year.
But he had no interceptions over his four years at Oregon State, so that might have contributed to him being undrafted.
But Robert Saleh, who comes from the Pete Carroll coaching tree, looks at corners a little differently than some teams, and in San Francisco, had success with some college corners who were undrafted free agents. K’Waun Williams is a good example. The former Pitt Panther and Paterson native, played for Saleh the last four years, and was a nice contributor. Another example was Tennessee’s Emmanuel Moseley, who signed with San Francisco as a UDFA in 2018, and played well for Saleh.
But once again, getting back to the original point, spending has never been an issue for Woody and Christopher. The issues over the years were more related to poor GM/coach choices, and some personnel meddling from business people, but those issues seem to be in the past now.
May 17, 2021
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