Everything Free Agency (Rumors, notes and news)

[KingOfNewYork]

2 minutes ago, jrry32 said:

No, you didn't. You signed a bunch of guys who don't really move the needle. I can't point to a single signing (not counting your re-signings) and say, "There's a quality starter."

EDIT: Connor McGovern is probably the closest thing to that.

Yes we did(see how fun this is)

Just because YOU cant see a quality starter doesn't mean we haven't set ourselves up to improve. It's easy to grab Conklin, Byron Jones, trade for Hopkins and Buckner. But we've been down that road. We've added depth, players who play without hurting the team(low penalties), guys with talent who just need to find consistency. You guys want teams to sign names but that's not the approach the best teams have used over the years. I'm assuming you think giving Leonard Floyd 10M was the way to go about things when we brought back Poole and Jenkins and added Desir for 15M total.

I'm not worried about cliches like moving the needle. We added talent, potential, depth and did not hinder our ability to utilize our cap space now nor in the future. That's how you utilize free agency.

[jrry32]

13 minutes ago, KingOfTheDot said:

Yes we did(see how fun this is)

Just because YOU cant see a quality starter doesn't mean we haven't set ourselves up to improve. It's easy to grab Conklin, Byron Jones, trade for Hopkins and Buckner. But we've been down that road. We've added depth, players who play without hurting the team(low penalties), guys with talent who just need to find consistency. You guys want teams to sign names but that's not the approach the best teams have used over the years. I'm assuming you think giving Leonard Floyd 10M was the way to go about things when we brought back Poole and Jenkins and added Desir for 15M total.

I'm not worried about cliches like moving the needle. We added talent, potential, depth and did not hinder our ability to utilize our cap space now nor in the future. That's how you utilize free agency.

There are many ways to utilize free agency. Signing a bunch of mediocre players isn't a good one. I like the comp pick approach, but that's harder to do for bad teams. With bad teams, it makes sense to chase high-priced talent at times. At other times, it makes sense to target underrated players. I guess maybe y'all are convincing yourselves you targeted underrated players (I guess the claim is that Fant is a super talented athlete, so you can finally get him to play to his athletic potential? IDK). Maybe you did. Personally, I don't see it. 

And yeah, I think adding Floyd for $10M made sense. He was a cut, which doesn't cost us the Fowler comp pick, and played for our new DC (so he fits the scheme). But I'm not out there touting it as some brilliant move. And I'm not out there touting our free agency as amazing. We chased comp picks, mainly. I was a bit disappointed in the A'Shawn signing because he cost us one. We'll see if he pans out. Regardless, I'm not sitting here touting a CB who got roasted last year (Desir), an OT who couldn't start in Seattle (Fant), and a few other nobodies as some sort of free agent revelation. And, of course, my team is trying to stay in the playoff hunt, not trying to climb out of the basement.

So yeah, I would hope a team trying to climb out of the basement would do a bit more. Darnold could use an OL. Frankly, if my team had a lot of cap and needed OL help, I'd have ponied up for Conklin. Nothing worse than letting your young QB get ruined by a bad OL. Maybe Chuma steps up. I liked his potential a lot last year, but he needed to get bigger and stronger.

Edited March 24, 2020 by jrry32

[BayRaider]

Was cool listening to Emmanuel Sanders interview. He said Manning/Brees sent him texts right away in welcoming him to the team and they are eager to get to work with him asap and it meant the world to him. Jimmy G never did this he said. 

[KingOfNewYork]

5 hours ago, jrry32 said:

There are many ways to utilize free agency. Signing a bunch of mediocre players isn't a good one. I like the comp pick approach, but that's harder to do for bad teams. With bad teams, it makes sense to chase high-priced talent at times. At other times, it makes sense to target underrated players. I guess maybe y'all are convincing yourselves you targeted underrated players (I guess the claim is that Fant is a super talented athlete, so you can finally get him to play to his athletic potential? IDK). Maybe you did. Personally, I don't see it. 

And yeah, I think adding Floyd for $10M made sense. He was a cut, which doesn't cost us the Fowler comp pick, and played for our new DC (so he fits the scheme). But I'm not out there touting it as some brilliant move. And I'm not out there touting our free agency as amazing. We chased comp picks, mainly. I was a bit disappointed in the A'Shawn signing because he cost us one. We'll see if he pans out. Regardless, I'm not sitting here touting a CB who got roasted last year (Desir), an OT who couldn't start in Seattle (Fant), and a few other nobodies as some sort of free agent revelation. And, of course, my team is trying to stay in the playoff hunt, not trying to climb out of the basement.

So yeah, I would hope a team trying to climb out of the basement would do a bit more. Darnold could use an OL. Frankly, if my team had a lot of cap and needed OL help, I'd have ponied up for Conklin. Nothing worse than letting your young QB get ruined by a bad OL. Maybe Chuma steps up. I liked his potential a lot last year, but he needed to get bigger and stronger.

You cant sign Conklin if he's set on moving towards the midwest.

You want names its fine. That's not what we're doing.

Desir, we're hoping to return to 2018 form.

Fant, we see potential for him in our new blocking scheme and shifting him back to the left where he played better than on the right.

Van Roten is a solid veteran on the interior, same for Lewis who was in his first year back from injury.

McGovern was one of the better interior OL the last few years.

It's not about touting them or convincing ourselves but understanding what the plan is going forward.

To think players cant play well in new environments is hilarious though.

 

[NJC33]

8 hours ago, jrry32 said:

Yeah, your contracts were light on guarantees, but you still gave out big contracts to guys who don't seem to be any good. Doesn't make a lot of sense.

The approach Douglas is taking is oddly similar to what the Bills did last offseason - Signing a bunch of middling to above average offensive lineman (McGovern, GVR, Fant, Lewis) and adding/retaining quality starters on team friendly contracts. I don't think we're done either, we have the most remaining cap space and have been linked to numerous players who could help "Move the needle".

It's not the flashy headline grabbing offseason fans fall in love with, but it's a smart way to build a foundation going forward while maintaining cap/resource flexibility to make a "splash" move when the time is right (I.e Bills/Diggs) . Of all teams, the Rams have shown the risk associated with being too aggressive in the offseason, which is proving IMO to be unsustainable.

[jetskid007]

9 hours ago, jrry32 said:

There are many ways to utilize free agency. Signing a bunch of mediocre players isn't a good one. I like the comp pick approach, but that's harder to do for bad teams. With bad teams, it makes sense to chase high-priced talent at times. At other times, it makes sense to target underrated players. I guess maybe y'all are convincing yourselves you targeted underrated players (I guess the claim is that Fant is a super talented athlete, so you can finally get him to play to his athletic potential? IDK). Maybe you did. Personally, I don't see it. 

And yeah, I think adding Floyd for $10M made sense. He was a cut, which doesn't cost us the Fowler comp pick, and played for our new DC (so he fits the scheme). But I'm not out there touting it as some brilliant move. And I'm not out there touting our free agency as amazing. We chased comp picks, mainly. I was a bit disappointed in the A'Shawn signing because he cost us one. We'll see if he pans out. Regardless, I'm not sitting here touting a CB who got roasted last year (Desir), an OT who couldn't start in Seattle (Fant), and a few other nobodies as some sort of free agent revelation. And, of course, my team is trying to stay in the playoff hunt, not trying to climb out of the basement.

So yeah, I would hope a team trying to climb out of the basement would do a bit more. Darnold could use an OL. Frankly, if my team had a lot of cap and needed OL help, I'd have ponied up for Conklin. Nothing worse than letting your young QB get ruined by a bad OL. Maybe Chuma steps up. I liked his potential a lot last year, but he needed to get bigger and stronger.

There’s some I agree with in here, but a lot I disagree with. It’s easy for an outside observer to criticize, but it seems like a lot of things are falling by the wayside. 

As far as the offensive line: 

• Joe Thuney was our top target and was expected to sign. He was open to NY and wanted to stay in the division. Franchise tag threw that out the window. Conversely No amount of money convincing Conklin to come to NY- he was vehemently against relocating his family to the east coast. From what I understand (agency source), he had hoped TEN/ARI/MIN- settled for CLE. It’s not like the team was negligent in their pursuit- it was largely out of their hands. 
• Glasgow pursuit was much like Conklin, except the Jets legitimately loved him (as did Miami). The Jets planned to use him at C and were willing to make him the highest paid one in the league, but he wasn't fond of relocating to the east coast. He just got married and he/his wife’s family are all in Michigan/Illinois/Ohio. Jets could’ve likely convinced him more than they could’ve Conklin by overpaying, but he really wanted to remain in the Midwest. Dream scenario for him was to go to CHI, but the offer wasn’t there. Signing him meant McGovern wasn't returning, and the Jets had him second to Glasgow as the top C available. McGovern is from North Dakota, but has a lot of family in NJ/NY and his father grew up in NJ- so it was a bit of a homecoming for his family. As you noted, McGovern is a solid starter. Not bad, not spectacular, but solid. He has position versatility- but the Jets “plan” to use him at C. He’s an improvement over any G/C we’ve had in the last 3 years. He's a much better pass protection than he is a run blocker (PFF gave him an 82.5 grade- good for 5th among C’s). The Jets think he's an ascending player, but his floor is significantly higher than what we've had. Again, easily the best OL we've had over the past 3 years. Sad, but true. He's definitely going to be a starter, likely for multiple years. 
• Greg Van Roten, Alex Lewis, and George Fant are are all on 1 year deals with 2 years of options. They’re coming in to compete. GVR and Lewis are both above average pass blockers by any noteworthy analytics statistic provider. As you noted, Fant is largely a projection- I think he’ll likely compete with Edoga to start at one T spot with a 1st rounder starting at the other. Also possible they plug a T in at G depending how the competition shakes out. Personally, I think Fant is an improvement over Beachum. Beachum was commendable and our best lineman over the past two years, but killed us with some bad penalties and restricted some of the things we could do schematically. Fant’s athleticism (as well as Edoga’s and potential 1st round pick/Trent Williams) will allow us to implement wider splits, which in theory should significantly help in pass protection and create more passing lanes underneath (I agree) and could help jump start Bell and the running game (I’m not sold that it will).
• As I alluded to, the Jets still have interest in Trent Williams, but won’t pay the 2nd round pick WAS seeks. I’m not as confident that a trade gets done right now (sounding like the Chargers are the favorite), but anything can happen.

When it comes to the OL- it’s easy to say these moves aren’t enough, but at the same time I don’t think outside observers realize how bad it has been for Sam Darnold. Even if the line is still below average it’s a significant upgrade over what we’ve had. The other thing is, I don’t think the Jets goal was to get “significantly better” in free agency (I know that sounds stupid but hear me out). I think Douglas wanted to stabilize positions and avoid getting worse without spending recklessly. The offensive line is significantly better than what it was. Desir is not great- but he’s an upgrade over what we had and with projected development from our young guys, the position should improve. EDGE is still a need, but at least we haven’t gotten worse and didn’t overpay anyone (sounding like either Everson Griffin or Vinny Curry could be coming in as a situational rusher as well). The WR group needs a lot of work, but some outlets like PFF are grading our free agency as if we've lost him; the team is waiting on Robby and if he doesn't sign, they'll pivot to Perriman/Dorsett/trade market. Regardless, their goal has always been to build through this draft class. 

An uninspiring FA period? That's fine. But Joe Douglas is relying on players getting healthy (we were one of the most injured teams in the league last year); progression from our young players- namely Sam Darnold but many others at key positions like CB Bless Austin, OT Chuma Edoga, EDGE Jordan Jenkins, EDGE Tarell Basham, DE Kyle Phillips, DL Quinnen Williams, DL Foley Fatukasi, DL Nathan Shepherd, RB Josh Adams, and TE Chris Herndon; improvement across the line; and a solid draft class to advance this team- not necessarily free agency. The team went 7-6 with their ultra talented 22 year old starting QB, finished the second half 6-2. I get that they didn’t have a rough schedule down the stretch, but the team played sound.

I think Darnold is going to really take off in his 3rd year, and it may be enough to push an average roster with some underrated talent to the playoffs. I’m happy that other teams are sleeping on the Jets because I’m ready for the “prove everyone wrong tour” in 2020. 
 

Early prediction: 10-6

Edited March 24, 2020 by jetskid007
grammatical errors and restructured list

[Danger]

16 hours ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Honest question, how many were actually able to identify who's lyrics Watson was tweeting? 

I don't think that's really important, he's tweeting it because he relates to it right now hardcore.

[Danger]

12 hours ago, The LBC said:

https://www.sportsgossip.com/jadeveon-clowney-turned-down-a-contract-offer-from-the-dolphins-that-would-have-paid-him-17-million-a-year/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=[DraftDiamonds]

 

yeah no thanks

[EL Guapo]

Golden could be a nice pickup for someone waiting for Clowney

[BZski]

 

[EL Guapo]

Giants need a slot corner so that makes sense 

[Daniel]

1 hour ago, Danger said:

yeah no thanks

I don't know if I believe any of the Clowney reports right now.  So far, all the ones that have been provable one way or another have been proven false.

58 minutes ago, EL Guapo said:

Golden could be a nice pickup for someone waiting for Clowney

I would actually prefer Golden for the Titans.  He'd be way cheaper, freeing up money for them to spend replenishing some of the depth at OL, DT, CB, or WR.  Which they really need if they want to not suck as soon as one good starter goes down.

[.Buzz]

Re: Jags

[SDotNova]

It’s kind of premature to be grading team’s offseason. There’s still quality players in FA. And there’s still the draft which could also lead to veteran players being traded.

As of now, the Jets have improved the following positons

McGovern > Kalil

Van Roten > Winters

Until further observation, we have to call Fant and Beachum equal. Although Fant fits our scheme better.

Desir > Trumaine

Not improvements but good moves. Aside from Robby, we resigned to modest contracts guys who should have been resigned (Poole, Lewis, Jenkins). Robby is the one guy still pending.  
 

Even if we resign Robby, we still need another WR, OT, and Edge. Let’s see what we do in the draft before judging though. We could get a WR at 11 and then a OT at 48 or viceversa. Possibly leaving edge as our big weakness. 

Edited March 24, 2020 by SDotNova

[candyman93]

@KingOfTheDot is right about Conklin. From what I’ve heard and read, he really wanted to be back close to home.

 

If he really had his way, he’d probably be a Lion.