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They kicked the tires
But there was no reason to jump through hoops to bring him back.
Talking about guard Pat Elflein who agreed to terms with the Carolina Panthers today. The announcement was made by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Remember the Jets claimed Elflein off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings on November 16, and was put right into the starting lineup at left guard to replace Alex Lewis, who got benched for ripping Adam Gase a new one in practice.
Elflein is okay, and did some good run blocking, especially in the Jets-Raiders game, but he’s undersized and got overwhelmed in pass protection at times, like in the Jets’ season finale against New England, when he got beat for a sack by DE Chase Winovich. In the second quarter in Seattle, DE L.J, Collier pushed back Elflein, forcing Sam Darnold had to scramble left, and he lost a yard. Late in the third quarter, Poona Ford pushed back Elflein, messing up the pocket, leading to a Jarran Reed sack.
Those two plays against Seattle are illustrative of Elflein being a tad over 6-2, a tad over 300 pounds, having short arms, and having issues with power.
I don’t mean to beat up on Elflein, who gives you everything he’s got, just saying the player moving on is something they can survive.
The Jets like second-year guards Cam Clark and Jimmy Murray, they could move Connor McGovern to guard and sign a center, or move Greg Van Roten to center.
The Jets claimed Elflein, which cost nothing, kicked the tires, and are now looking for another car . . .
The Jets are interested in re-signing Breshad Perriman, which makes perfect sense. Yes, he only had 30 catches and 3 touchdowns last year in 12 games, but part of that is the QB not getting him the ball enough.
The QB often has an issue fixating on his first read, and Perriman usually wasn’t the first read, so it’s unfair to judge him by his pedestrian numbers last year.
Perriman showed he still has the great size-speed ratio that helped make him a first-round pick, with his electrifying 53-yard catch-and-run against New England in Week 17. Perriman is still a sub 4.4 guy at 6-2, 215 pounds. At Central Florida’s Pro Day he ran 4.26 . . .
Ian Rapoport announced that free agent linebacker Jarrad Davis will sign a one-year deal for $7 million.
This signing makes a lot of sense because Davis is a good coverage linebacker, and that is a huge need for the Jets. The Jets’ linebacker coverage the last couple of years has been substandard. Davis ran a 4.62 forty when he came out of the University of Florida in 2017. The Lions picked him in the first round of the 2017 draft.
The one-year contract makes sense for two reasons: First of all, it’s a tremendous motivator to the player to have a big year as he angles for a long-term deal. It’s a great dangling carrot. Secondly, Davis had some injury issues with the Lions and Gators, so a one-year deal minimizes the Jets’ risk. If he doesn’t stay healthy this year, they just move on.
By the way, I hear he also has great character, which is something Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh are looking for in their players . . .
As I went to press, the Jets signed WR Corey Davis from the Titans, and DE Carl Lawson from the Bengals. We will have more on them tomorrow. These two signings continue the Joe Douglas trend from last year of signing good players for decent money, but not insane, cap-destroying money.
March 15, 2021
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