After an offseason of speculation, rumors and criticism about their inexperienced and thin receiving corps, the Jets today provided an answer, making a potentially significant catch when they traded for Browns receiver Braylon Edwards.
To aqcuire Edwards, who’d worn out his welcome in Cleveland with contract demands and off-field issues in recent months, the Jets traded receiver Chansi Stuckey and LB/special teams player Jason Trusnik to the Browns along with two draft picks, believed to be a third-rounder and fifth-rounder.
Edwards, who has a career 15.5-yard average per catch, is the outside deep threat the Jets have been pining for.
Edwards, a former first-round draft pick in his fifth year out of Michigan, has 10 catches for 139 yards and no TDs this season for the 0-4 Browns. For his career he has 238 catches for 3,697 yards and 28 touchdowns.
His best season was in 2007 when he caught 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 TDs.
Last season he had 55 catches for 873 yards and 3 TDs, and was heavily criticized for a number of high-profile drops.
If Edwards can return to his ’07 form, the Jets offense will get a significant boost as he teams with Jets leading receiver Jerricho Cotchery, who has 23 catches for 356 yards and one TD this season.
The criticism of the Jets receiving corps has been ongoing and legitimzed by the production this season. After Cotchery’s 23 catches, the rest of the Jets wideouts have combined for 14 catches — Stuckey’s 11, Brad Smith’s 3 and David Clowney’s 0.
The departure of Stuckey, though, will be a difficult one because he’s a skilled slot receiver and leaves a void in that spot, where Smith now becomes the No. 3 receiver. Clowney, a speedster, has proven himself to be a preseason demon but a one-trick pony who simply runs deep routes.
Perhaps, because of the chemistry he had early in preseason with Mark Sanchez, Wallace Wright, a special teams player, will get a few more reps as a slot receiver.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the Jets have made a big deal with Eric Mangini, the head coach they fired last January. They traded up in the draft with the Browns to acquire the pick they used to select Sanchez.
The trading of Trusnik, while not high profile, deals a blow to the Jets special teams unit. Trusnik, who was named Special Teams Player of the Week two weeks ago after his performance against the Titans, had become a favorite of Jets special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff and Rex Ryan, who said the other day there isn’t a special teams player playing better than Trusnik.
But Edwards is a big-target potential game breaker the Jets have needed for a while.
While Jets fans are undoubtedly rejoicing over this acquisition, they should be reminded that this deal doesn’t come without controversy. Edwards is facing an NFL investigation for off-the-field trouble. The NFL is currently investigating whether Edwards violated the league’s conduct policy after accusations that he assaulted a friend of NBA star LeBron James outside a Cleveland nightclub on Monday night.
Edwards, too, has been involved in other off-field incidents. In March, he was partying with suspended wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth in Miami the night Stallworth later drove drunk and killed a pedestrian, though Edwards wasn’t with Stallworth at the time of the accident.
Last November, Edwards was fined $150 and given 30 hours of community service after he was found guilty of driving 120 mph.
Edwards is in the final year of his contact, though depending on whether a new CBA deal is struck, he might be a restricted free agent in 2010. Edwards was embroiled in a contract dispute with the Browns before this season, wanting a new deal but not getting one.
It’s unclear at the moment whether the Jets have — or are are working on — a new deal for Edwards. That, however, would send a horrendous message to their RB Leon Washington, who they’re holding over a barrel with the uncertain CBA status and not giving him a contract worthy of unrestricted free agent status as he plays in the final year of his deal.
I’ll be at the Jets facility later today with more reaction from Ryan, Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and Jets players.