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Joe Douglas isn’t into bribery.
What do I mean by that?
Simple. He’s not going to overpay players to come to the Jets, which has happened a lot in the past.
Because of their rough history, like missing the playoffs the last ten years, this has allowed agents to extort extra money out of Jets executives in the past. It’s almost like a bonus to come play for them since they have struggled, and have been the butt (pun intended) of media jokes for years.
But money can’t buy you love.
And Douglas isn’t going to engage in this foolish practice of padding contracts to beg players to come to the Jets.
A contract that illustrates this misguided past approach is the deal given to linebacker C.J. Mosley in 2019.
Clearly Mosley didn’t want to leave the Ravens, but they offered him around $13-14 million-a-year, and the Jets offered him $17 million-a-year, so he went with the money.
He played just part of two games in 2019, and then opted out last year.
He clearly left his heart in Baltimore.
Who pays middle linebackers $51 million guaranteed, anyway?
That is borderline racketeering.
So this a perfect example of what I’m talking about – overpaying, to twist a player’s arm, to sign with a team has a struggled quite a bit in recent years.
Douglas will not do that.
His approach is simple. He breaks down the free agent’s film with his personnel department and coaches, comes up with a value, and makes an offer commensurate with that value.
If you don’t like the offer, go play somewhere else.
No more bribes to play for Gang Green.
Also, none of these five-year deals like Mosley got.
You are seeing a bunch of one or two-year contracts from Douglas. While the media insiders, who carry the water for agents, announced that DE Carl Lawson and WR Corey Davis got three-year deals, they are really two years deals. LB Jarrad Davis, S Lamarcus Joyner, WR Keelin Cole and G Dan Feeney all got one-year deals. Special Teamer Justin Hardee got a three-year deal, but it’s really a one-year deal.
Getting guys on short-term deals is great from a motivational standpoint. All these players will be highly-motivated to play their best football, to produce great tape, and earn that next contract.
When you go too long with NFL contracts, sometimes it can lead to complacency.
I will get more into some of the new additions that followed Lawson, Davis and Davis next week, but I just want to touch on Joyner for a second.
He’s a very, very instinctive defensive back, who is always around the ball, whether it’s as a pass defender or against the run. His last two contracts will give you an idea about his talent. In 2018, the Rams put the franchise tag on him, and he played that year for $11.28 million, and then in 2019, he signed a four-year, $42 million deal with the Raiders. Last year was a nightmare with two positive COVID-19 tests, and the Raiders recently moved on.
But this guy has plus instincts to jump routes, something the Jets need more of in their secondary, whether he plays safety or in the slot, two roles he handled in the past.
March 19, 2021
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