The Jets are ready to open their checkbook.
Woody and Christopher Johnson must crack open the vault and give general manager Mike Maccagnan some money to play with this winter. After back-to-back 5-11 seasons, the Jets are facing a critical offseason in which they must upgrade their roster.
Luckily for them, they are expected to have around $100 million in salary-cap space. Maccagnan has preached building through the draft since he arrived in 2015, knowing that throwing around money in free agency can be foolish. Don’t expect the Jets to spend every penny of their cap space, but they have enough room to overhaul parts of their roster.
We’re here to help them spend it.
At the moment, the Jets are projected to have $78 million in cap space, according to overthecap.com. That is before the team cuts defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and running back Matt Forte, which would clear another $14 million. The salary cap is also expected to rise this year, which will probably put the Jets just under $100 million.
NFL free agency is tricky to predict because the market can change drastically between now and March 14, when free agency begins. Teams will re-sign some of the players projected to be free agents, and they will cut others unexpectedly. We’ll operate with who is projected to reach free agency right now.
Maccagnan must start with the offense that has been ignored for too long. The Jets could re-sign Josh McCown, who will be a free agent at quarterback. If they choose to make a big splash, Kirk Cousins is the guy. If the Redskins let Cousins hit the market, he will be in demand and will command a contract that averages at least $25 million a season. This would be unusual for the Jets to go this route. They are generally more conservative in their approach.
If it is not Cousins, the other free-agent quarterback options could come from the odd man out in Minnesota — Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenum or Sam Bradford. All of them come with major question marks though, whether it is health or consistency.
Whoever the Jets wind up with at quarterback, that player needs some playmakers around him. The Jets need an overhaul at running back where Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire are nice, complementary players, but not stars.
Le’Veon Bell is the biggest name scheduled to hit free agency, but it is hard to imagine the Steelers letting him walk. Other running backs that could be out there are the 49ers’ Carlos Hyde, the Patriots’ Dion Lewis and Isaiah Crowell of the Browns.
Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse and Quincy Enunwa give the Jets a nice core at wide receiver, but they still could use a gamebreaker. Jarvis Landry of the Dolphins, Allen Robinson of the Jaguars and Sammy Watkins of the Rams are big names that could be free.
At tight end, the Jets could bring back Austin Seferian-Jenkins, but may look for an upgrade. The Seahawks’ Jimmy Graham and the Bengals’ Tyler Eifert are names to watch at that position.
The Jets definitely need to address the offensive line, but that looks like it will mostly have to be in the draft. The free-agent class is weak. Weston Richburg could move across town from the Giants to the Jets if the Jets decide to let Wes Johnson leave.
On defense, Maccagnan needs to find an edge rusher. The Jets have not had an elite one since John Abraham left town over a decade ago. Demarcus Lawrence is 25 and had 14 ½ sacks for the Cowboys this year. If he somehow gets out of Dallas, Maccagnan should make him a top priority. Todd Bowles’ defense instantly improves with an elite edge rusher. Other names to watch here are the Raiders’ Aldon Smith, the Lions’ Ezekiel Ansah and the Colts’ Barkevious Mingo.
Another area of Bowles’ defense that needs improvement is cornerback. The Jets found a couple of building blocks at safety with Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. Now, they need some help on the outside.
Trumaine Johnson of the Rams is going to be the best cornerback on the board. The Jets could add him and bring back Morris Claiborne to form a nice duo. The Patriots’ Malcolm Butler, the Packers’ Davon House and the Eagles’ Patrick Robinson are other cornerbacks that will draw plenty of interest.