Jets’ roster upgrade came at a bargain, but will it work?
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets:
1. Joe cap: Who would you rather have on your team, Laken Tomlinson and C.J. Uzomah or Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, John Simpson, Mike Williams, Tyrod Taylor, Javon Kinlaw, Leki Fotu and Isaiah Oliver?
You’d take the latter, obviously — the Jets’ current free agent class.
Operating with a tighter budget than usual, general manager Joe Douglas has stretched his salary cap dollars a lot further than past offseasons. Take 2022, for instance. That year, he doled out $39 million in guarantees for Tomlinson and Uzomah, neither of whom lived up to their contracts. For roughly the same amount this year ($40.6 million), he landed four, possibly five starters and a legitimate backup quarterback.
At the start of free agency, a lot of people were wondering how he’d fill three starting positions along the offensive line. It took some creativity, but he acquired Smith, Moses and Simpson for only $12.5 million in guarantees and $17.4 million in cap dollars. Swinging the trade for Moses, who brought with him a team-friendly contract, was key.
“The offensive line should be a strength if everything falls into place,” a longtime NFC personnel executive said.
No plan is perfect; this one has some downside. They sacrificed top pass-rusher Bryce Huff, who signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, for a handful of one-year, stop-gap players with durability concerns, most notably Smith and Williams.
Smith, Williams and Kinlaw — projected starters — have missed a combined total of 83 games over the past four seasons. Taylor also has dealt with a number of injuries and Moses, the iron man of the class, is coming off surgery. For the team that was defined by injuries in 2023 — see quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the offensive line — this is risky. It explains why such high-level performers were available at cut-rate prices.
Douglas had his reasons for this approach — less cap space than previous years and the need to maintain flexibility for the near future. Cornerback Sauce Gardner, wide receiver Garrett Wilson & Co. are eligible for new deals in 2025, and they will be costly.
2. Much-needed insurance: Taylor received a relatively large guarantee ($8.5 million), which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering owner Woody Johnson’s recent comments about the backup quarterback situation. The only backups who got more than Taylor were Gardner Minshew ($15 million) and Sam Darnold ($8.75 million), who could wind up as bridge starters for the Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings, respectively.
After last season’s backup mess, the Jets splurged. Said one former GM: “There’s nothing worse than being in the press box and watching a mistake. It’s like getting a paddling every week.”
