So, don’t get those Osi Umenyiora Jets jerseys printed just yet.
It turns out Umenyiora’s visit to the Jets’ training center on Wednesday was not an official free agency recruiting visit, but just him stopping by on his way to the airport to say hello to new Jets coach Todd Bowles.
“I think he was in our building a whole 10 minutes,” Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan said. “I actually didn’t even know he was here until later in the day when somebody asked me about it.”
Maccagnan said it was a “social visit.” The Jets reported it to the NFL as they would any free-agent visit, which created some of the confusion Wednesday night when it was reported he visited the Jets.
The Jets need some backup defensive linemen, but Umenyiora does not seem like a great fit. Still, Maccagnan said the Jets will evaluate him.
“I think Osi, like all the players in free agency right now, we’re definitely reviewing [him],” Maccagnan said. “There’s still value out there in the free-agent market. Osi’s somebody we’ll talk about internally and make an evaluation if we want to go forward on it.”
Umenyiora and Bowles share the same agent, so that may be their connection.
The Jets and former Giants offensive lineman James Brewer agreed to a one-year deal on Thursday, according to a source.
Brewer will be the Jets’ backup swing tackle, able to play behind both D’Brickashaw Ferguson on the left side or Breno Giacomini on the right.
The Giants selected Brewer in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Indiana. He started eight games in 2013 for Big Blue, playing both guard positions and right tackle. He only played 53 snaps for the Giants last year, according to Pro Football Focus. Ben Ijalana filled the backup tackle role for the Jets in the last two seasons, but he is a free agent.