The New York Jets Must Keep Their Nucleus in Place
In the past, the New York Jets have been accused of being cheap with their money. However, this offseason, they are proving that they are not letting money get in the way of improving their team.
This offseason, the Jets are showing that their main goal is to win and they are doing everything they can to unseat the Patriots in the AFC.
First of all, the Jets gave D’Brickashaw Ferguson a hefty contract extension of six years with a huge pay raise.
In fact, this offseason, the Jets have splurged way more than most of the league. They have been one of the most aggressive teams this offseason. They are trying to build on their rollercoaster season last year that peaked in the playoffs, as they reached the AFC Championship game before they were defeated by a much more composed Indianapolis Colts team.
The Jets acquisitions this offseason have now led them to having 12 positional players who have been to the Pro Bowl before. That is the same amount as the team they are trying to dethrone, the New England Patriots.
In the last couple of years, the Jets have proven that they are out to win. They didn’t hesitate to experiment with Brett Favre when he became available and traded for him before the 2008 season.
In the 2008 draft, they traded up to get Mark Sanchez, giving them a quarterback to build around.
Now this offseason, the Jets have been very aggressive. They traded for Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes, who will serve a suspension at the start of the season. Shortly after, they also traded for former Pro Bowler Antonio Cromartie, and signed longtime Chargers franchise running back Ladainian Tomlinson.
The Jets also signed longtime Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor. Also, in the past couple of seasons, they have also added Kris Jenkins, Bart Scott and Damien Woody. Those players don’t come around cheap.
The Jets now have a payroll of over $112 million and that number will go higher. On top of signing Ferguson, the Jets will still have to spend over $200 million in contracts if they are to extend center Nick Mangold, linebacker David Harris and cornerback Darrelle Revis.
Revis wants to be the highest paid cornerback in the league. Last season, he was the best corner and he wants to be paid accordingly. That means the Jets would have to pay him over $15 million per season.
A deal for Mangold would probably cost around $7 million.
The Jets are already paying Bart Scott $8 million at linebacker and it will be tricky to sign Harris, as it won't be easy to have two linebackers being paid at $8 million.
The Jets are also moving into a new stadium and are proving that they aren’t cheap. It’s understandable that their defensive stars want bigger contracts, as the Jets defence was number one overall in the NFL last season. The Jets are quite simply victims of their own success, but they will have to lock up their stars long-term if they are to make a run at a Super Bowl.
Last season, the Jets were very inconsistent, as it seemed a different team showed up every week. Their defence and their running game kept them in games as quarterback Sanchez experienced his growing pains, throwing 22 interceptions.
Something amazing happened in the playoffs though as the Jets shut down the Bengals and the high-powered Charger offence. Sanchez also cut down his mistakes and the Jets running game carried them through games in their run to the AFC Championship game.
Besides their defensive stars’ satisfaction with their contracts, the season will also depend on how Sanchez plays in his sophomore year. The Jets have an interesting season ahead of them as they will have to deal with the notion that they are in fact the favorites.
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