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Ahem. Andre the Jet? *Just speculation*


Lizard King

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http://nypost.com/2014/05/28/heres-why-andre-johnson-to-jets-makes-some-sense/

 

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New Jets running back Chris Johnson put on his general manager hat Tuesday night and lobbied the team to acquire Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson on Twitter.

The tweet sent Jets fans into fantasy football mode imagining the seven-time Pro Bowler in green and white. Johnson did not show up for the Texans’ first OTA on Tuesday and has expressed his unhappiness with the organization that has a new coach in Bill O’Brien and an uncertain quarterback situation.

Could it really happen? Let’s take a closer look at whether the Jets should make the splashy move.

Three reasons it makes sense

1. They still need help: The Jets signed Eric Decker to a five-year, $36.25 million deal in March. They also added Jacoby Ford and drafted three wide receivers. Still, there is a big question mark about who will start opposite Decker. Johnson would answer that question. There is no debating his production. He had 109 catches for 1,407 yards and five touchdowns on a team that had three quarterbacks last season. He has caught more than 100 passes in five different seasons in his career. Johnson would be the team’s best receiver when he walked in the door.

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Geno SmithPhoto: Charles Wenzelberg

2. A veteran presence: The Jets have gone through a major roster overhaul since John Idzik arrived in January 2013. That has made them a very young team, which is not necessarily a bad thing on the field but has left a bit of a leadership void in the locker room. Johnson is a 32-year-old veteran who could come in and help a young offense, including quarterback Geno Smith.

3. Money to spend: If the Texans decide to move Johnson, the biggest challenge will be finding teams with the salary cap space to take him and his $11 million salary cap number this year. The Jets are one team that could do it. That does not necessarily mean they should, but with $23.5 million left in cap space they could do it if they wanted to.

Three reasons it doesn’t

1. Big bucks: The biggest reason a marriage between Johnson and the Jets won’t happen is the dollars he is owed – $33.5 million over the next three seasons. We have seen Idzik is not a big spender. Would he really commit that kind of money to a player who turns 33 in July? No way.

2. Not now: If the Jets were knocking on the door of the Super Bowl, a move like this might make sense even with the financial concerns. But the Jets are not in that stage of their rebuild yet. Right now, this team is trying to become a playoff team. Adding Johnson would not solve their problems in the secondary or make Geno Smith stop throwing interceptions.

3. Deal or no deal: Even with Johnson grumbling about things in Houston, it is hard to imagine the Texans actually trading him. The move would come with serious salary cap ramifications for Houston, and there is also no chance they will get equal value in a trade for Johnson. He has shown he still can produce, and O’Brien likely will convince him the team is not that far from turning it around and Johnson can be a huge part of that. If they decide to trade him, you have to think they would try to get him out of the AFC, eliminating the Jets as well.

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Tell you what, if this happens, this team would be seriously stacked for a run in 2010.

 

Why would we want 2010 Andre Johnson? He less catches and yards that year than this year. This joke is usually made when you're talking about guys that are completely washed up, but I can see why you wanted to stretch it.

 

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Why would we want 2010 Andre Johnson? He less catches and yards that year than this year. This joke is usually made when you're talking about guys that are completely washed up, but I can see why you wanted to stretch it.

 

 

Ah, ok. So you want 32-35 year old Andre Johnson, at $11 million, per? Or would you rather rework the contract and get 32-35 Andre with $28m Guaranteed? Enlighten me on what I'm missing here, please?

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If we do he'll be the best WR we've had since...well probably ever. Question is at age 33-35 will he still be at least 90% of what he was up until then. Plus if Houston is contemplating cutting him for cap reasons anyway, then they might take a lower pick. Maybe. In that case, if we get only 2 years of high-end production out of him it's no big deal. That $ at age 35 isn't guaranteed and he may see that taking a bit of a cut is still more than he'll get anywhere else. Possibly before that.

I'm not going to be thrilled that we just burned 3 picks on WRs, since we may not have the roster space to stow them away, but Andre is the type of player you're saving your cap pennies for. A million saved here, a million saved there. It adds up, and one can say Andre "effectively" cost us millions less because of cap space we didn't over-spend in other areas just because the space is there (like at RT).

Also he's a finite duration cost. He's not going to be $11M for the next 10 years. Most likely not for more than 2. And over the next 2 years it seems very unlikely we'll be in the running for any $15M+ QBs, unfortunately. Also, unlike pissing this much on a CB, the opposition can't just direct the defense away from Andre the way an offense can direct itself away from Revis (assuming they have more than 1 legit receiving option).

We'll have gone from arguably the worst WR corps to easily one of the best, and the guys drafted can be brought along more gradually if they need to be, since they won't be needed as starters for some time.

Curious what the asking price would be - assuming he's even on the trading block in the first place - but how can you not be interested?

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Ah, ok. So you want 32-35 year old Andre Johnson, at $11 million, per? Or would you rather rework the contract and get 32-35 Andre with $28m Guaranteed? Enlighten me on what I'm missing here, please?

How old was Jerry Rice when he was shattering record books in 1995 with a receiving yard record that stood for 2 decades? Oh yeah, he was 33. Marvin Harrison was still 1st team all-pro at ages 34. Ditto Terrell Owens. Because of all the "uh oh, he's 30 years old" talk that aways goes around, I remember waiting for these guys to hit a wall at 31-32 that they didn't hit until years later. There are plenty more examples.

Some guys are washed up at 29. Others are great into their mid-30s. Plus his contract is not guaranteed. I wouldn't rework his deal much. He's not getting $28M guaranteed from us or from anyone so I don't know where that's coming from. The story is teams are balking at $33M NOT guaranteed, so he won't get half that as a guarantee. $15M is the most he'd get guaranteed, which means mostly just the upcoming season or two. At 35 he's he'd still be very cuttable either way.

Do you feel enlightened now? ;)

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If we do he'll be the best WR we've had since...well probably ever. Question is at age 33-35 will he still be at least 90% of what he was up until then. Plus if Houston is contemplating cutting him for cap reasons anyway, then they might take a lower pick. Maybe. In that case, if we get only 2 years of high-end production out of him it's no big deal. That $ at age 35 isn't guaranteed and he may see that taking a bit of a cut is still more than he'll get anywhere else. Possibly before that.

I'm not going to be thrilled that we just burned 3 picks on WRs, since we may not have the roster space to stow them away, but Andre is the type of player you're saving your cap pennies for. A million saved here, a million saved there. It adds up, and one can say Andre "effectively" cost us millions less because of cap space we didn't over-spend in other areas just because the space is there (like at RT).

Also he's a finite duration cost. He's not going to be $11M for the next 10 years. Most likely not for more than 2. And over the next 2 years it seems very unlikely we'll be in the running for any $15M+ QBs, unfortunately. Also, unlike pissing this much on a CB, the opposition can't just direct the defense away from Andre the way an offense can direct itself away from Revis (assuming they have more than 1 legit receiving option).

We'll have gone from arguably the worst WR corps to easily one of the best, and the guys drafted can be brought along more gradually if they need to be, since they won't be needed as starters for some time.

Curious what the asking price would be - assuming he's even on the trading block in the first place - but how can you not be interested?

Well said. I like him at a lower price, and I like that last year he made 1400 yards on three different quarterbacks. I don't see him taking a pay cut on arrival, and I don't see us outbidding with draft picks for that contract like you may see a Jacksonville do.

The right team could offer him a Randy Moss scenario, San Fran, Seattle, Denver, Green Bay, Dallas, Pittsburgh, New England; at which point maybe he takes a moderate pay cut there to win with a good but cap strapped club.

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How old was Jerry Rice when he was shattering record books in 1995 with a receiving yard record that stood for 2 decades? Oh yeah, he was 33. Marvin Harrison was still 1st team all-pro at ages 34. Ditto Terrell Owens. Because of all the "uh oh, he's 30 years old" talk that aways goes around, I remember waiting for these guys to hit a wall at 31-32 that they didn't hit until years later. There are plenty more examples.

Some guys are washed up at 29. Others are great into their mid-30s. Plus his contract is not guaranteed. I wouldn't rework his deal much. He's not getting $28M guaranteed from us or from anyone so I don't know where that's coming from. The story is teams are balking at $33M NOT guaranteed, so he won't get half that as a guarantee. $15M is the most he'd get guaranteed, which means mostly just the upcoming season or two. At 35 he's he'd still be very cuttable either way.

Do you feel enlightened now? ;)

Yes much. The age is less concerning than the draft we just spent on offense, costs and future implications. We don't have Steve Young either. ;)

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Remember when Idzik was an idiot for not spending ALL our cap money the first week of free agency?  Remember when ZERO good players come on the market after the initial stages?  Since that date, Chris Johnson, DeSean Jackson and now Andre Johnson have become available.  Do you think maybe some others will pop up or is Idzik still just saving Johnson's money without understanding the impending cap floor?

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Remember when Idzik was an idiot for not spending ALL our cap money the first week of free agency?  Remember when ZERO good players come on the market after the initial stages?  Since that date, Chris Johnson, DeSean Jackson and now Andre Johnson have become available.  Do you think maybe some others will pop up or is Idzik still just saving Johnson's money without understanding the impending cap floor?

 

Never was one of those nervous wrecks myself. But when you have just spent three picks on receivers, who weren't BPA, it's hard to argue "BPA" now that Andre's out there, it'd be repeating more of the same need-based spending, and I think you only do that when your team is secure all around. Which we are not as our line is already telling us.

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bring him in.  I don't care if he's nfl "old"...I think chris Johnson, Michael vick, decker, our defense as a whole, mangold, and even...yes I will say it...."folk hero" nick folk the kicker all on one team will strike fear in everyone that faces us.  I don't care if it is just for a year...only takes one year to win.  I want a superbowl in my lifetime dammit!

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