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Premium – What to make of this story. It’s a tough one to figure out. Let’s take a closer look at it . . .
“The Jets have opened the lines of communication with Mo Wilkerson, but the anchor of Rex Ryan’s defense may still have to wait for his big payday,” wrote Manish Mehta in the Daily News. “The Jets have had recent discussions with the All-Pro defensive lineman’s camp about his future, but no new long-term deal is on the horizon, according to a team source.”
According to a team source?
Are you kidding me?
Who on earth, from the John Idzik regime, would talk about something like this to a writer?
I have been covering the Jets for close to 20 years, and believe it or not, Idzik might be the most tight-lipped guy of them all, and that includes Eric Mangini.
I’m telling you, even agents are frustrated with him, because it’s so hard to get anything out of him.
So you are telling me a team source gave a writer, these kind of details, on what is going on with Mo’s contract negotiations? That is hard to fathom.
“The source left open the possibility of revisiting contract extension talks with Wilkerson in the summer but admitted that it’s unlikely a new long-term pact will be struck this offseason unless the player accepts a team-friendly deal,” wrote Mehta.
“Wilkerson unwittingly hurt his negotiating leverage with public remarks last month that he won’t hold out if he doesn’t get a long-term deal, the team source said. Wilkerson would have incurred hefty daily fines if he held out, but that’s a player’s only true means of leverage under the current CBA structure?
Think about this? A team source is going to criticize a player, the best player on the team, for saying he won’t hold out?
What Mo did by saying he won’t holdout is a feather in his cap, not a negative. It was a goodwill gesture. Mo is a very decent guy, and he wants to do things the right way.”
Teams really appreciate when you avoid holdouts, and keep negotiations classy.
So why would it be held against Mo that he won’t hold out? That is bizarre.
I know how Idzik operates – he likes to keep things on the QT. If a team source actually did leak this stuff, Idzik will look into the matter, and probably fire the individual.
I’m not going to lie, this story doesn’t pass the smell test.
Here is the tough part of the Wilkerson negotiation.
He is a 3-4 end. It’s a very tough position to quantify a value because the job involves a lot of dirty work – it’s a lot more than stats.
He’s not Jared Allen flying off the edge getting 19 sacks out of a pure 4-3.
Or he’s not DeMarcus Ware playing the 3-4 outside linebacker spot, a sack rich position, for a good edge rusher.
So what category do you put Wilkerson?
That is the quandary.
He’s probably going to ask for the contract Buffalo gave Mario Williams for about $16 million a year, and the Jets aren’t going to want to go there.
To me, the benchmark deal for Wilkerson is the contract Calais Campbell signed in Arizona last year – 5 years, $55 million with $17 million guaranteed.
Campbell is a very good 3-4 end. Add a little to that deal, and that would be fair.
March 7, 2014
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