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Jets Working to Retain Clady?


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By Glenn Naughton

 

After a disastrous season in which Jets left tackle Ryan Clady missed 8 games and closed out the season on injured reserve with a torn rotator cuff, his lofty $10 million price tag for 2017 made him a surefire candidate to be shown the door in an effort to free up cap space.

While Clady may very well be cut loose before the start of the season, the Jets have reportedly made a move that will allow them to delay that decision, presumably to monitor and evaluate Clady’s progress and any potential replacements through the draft and free agency.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, Gang Green re-worked Clady’s contract in such a way that his $2.5 million roster bonus that was originally due in mid February, has now been made a part of his base salary, which will now climb from $7.5 million, to $10 million.

Clady has suffered a litany of injuries over the past several seasons, causing him to miss a total of 37 games over the past four seasons.  Prior to that, Clady started every single game over the course of his first five seasons of his career.

With no other proven veterans on the roster, buying some more time on the decision with Clady is a sound one by Mike Maccagnan and company.

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3 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

With no day-1 starters at LT in this draft, it makes sense to have something lined up ... but Clady's price tag has to account for him never playing 16 games. 

Yup, not a lot of options out there and they should re-work his deal to hinge on playing time.

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10 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

With no day-1 starters at LT in this draft, it makes sense to have something lined up ... but Clady's price tag has to account for him never playing 16 games. 

Delaying the decision is smart.  I was scared when I saw this, because I would assume that any deal to retain him would reduce his current salary but get some guaranteed money for 2018 and I doubt we want him around that long.

5 minutes ago, Ohio State NY Jets fan said:

so if they cut him before the start of the season and resign him right after the season has started (1 day?) he would be paid on a game to game basis right?  that sounds like a plan to me or lower the base salary (2M) and turn the rest of the money (8M) into 500k game bonus checks

I don't think vets can be on the week 1 roster or they are guaranteed.  That was the whole thing with the backup QB for 2015.  Geno was hurt, Petty not ready and they had to cut Flynn and Johnson so they wouldn't be guaranteed. You'd be going into week 1 with what at LT?  Qvale?  I think they have to move on from Clady, but pushing the bonus is a nice stopgap.  Since Clady is hurt he probably doesn't mind because if they cut him nobody is going to sign him for real money now.  There must be some point where they have to cut him or the money kicks in.

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I rather let him go and save money. Next season is shaping up to be a lost season with no viable QB at sight. Release injury plagued vets with high price tag, go with young players. If even 1 or 2 of the young guys pan out, you are OK. Worst case, you will pick in Top 5 for 2018 where QB class looks more promising.

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Just now, Fibonacci said:

I rather let him go and save money. Next season is shaping up to be a lost season with no viable QB at sight. Release injury plagued vets with high price tag, go with young players. If even 1 or 2 of the young guys pan out, you are OK. Worst case, you will pick in Top 5 for 2018 where QB class looks more promising.

This idea, that I'm seeing more and more on JN, that we cannot improve the roster because we don't have a QB yet is foolish. You don't know when you're going to find a QB, as the Cowboys found out this year, but you improve your odds of finding a QB that can thrive within your system IF you have capable complementary players in place.

It's not a 1 man game, as much as it may feel that way watching Brady every week. 

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2 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

This idea, that I'm seeing more and more on JN, that we cannot improve the roster because we don't have a QB yet is foolish. You don't know when you're going to find a QB, as the Cowboys found out this year, but you improve your odds of finding a QB that can thrive within your system IF you have capable complementary players in place.

It's not a 1 man game, as much as it may feel that way watching Brady every week. 

Ape

I respect your opinion. You are giving a good example regarding Cowboys. But, for me it is either a franchise QB or bust. Especially in this new NFL climate where franchise QB's go to Superbowl year after year. My questions to below questions are the reason I want high priced, injury plagued vets to go.

1) Do you rather save money for future years or spend on next season where you don't have a franchise QB on roster? I rather save money for future years when we have a QB

2) Would you rather finish 3-13 or 8-8? I rather go 3-13 to pick at the top of the draft to pick the QB I like. 

There is no right or wrong answer here. You have your opinion, I have mine. Two different approaches that's all.

 

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It sounds like this is nothing more than an insurance policy, which I'm totally fine with.  Certainly no harm in being able to delay this decision.  With no bonus or guarantees, they could presumably carry him all the way through the end of camp with no penalties, which isn't such a bad thing.  Of course if he ends up making the final roster at this cost, that's a totally different story, but it's still quite a while before that becomes a real concern.

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So much of our focus is on the Qb position, but the situation with Clady in a nutshell shows how deep the problems are for the Jets.  The central part of the story is that the FO is motivated to try to work with a guy they almost certainly wouldn't if they had ANY decent options.  It's not just that there's no obvious starting LT in the draft. It's also that Breno sucks and should be gone and who else on the roster can play OT?

Yeah, there are to be sure some young players on the team who are good and likely will have good careers going forward.  But there sure is a lot of rot, too.

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51 minutes ago, Fibonacci said:

Ape

I respect your opinion. You are giving a good example regarding Cowboys. But, for me it is either a franchise QB or bust. Especially in this new NFL climate where franchise QB's go to Superbowl year after year. My questions to below questions are the reason I want high priced, injury plagued vets to go.

1) Do you rather save money for future years or spend on next season where you don't have a franchise QB on roster? I rather save money for future years when we have a QB

2) Would you rather finish 3-13 or 8-8? I rather go 3-13 to pick at the top of the draft to pick the QB I like. 

There is no right or wrong answer here. You have your opinion, I have mine. Two different approaches that's all.

 

So don't do anything to improve the roster until you find a QB. Which means, after you find a QB, you need a minimum of 3 seasons to build the roster around him, and to determine if you actually found a QB or not, because you haven't seen full potential given that players around him are sh*t.

I'm not talking about right or wrong. I'm talking about logic, respecting the realities of chronology in team building, and accommodating change/luck.

I don't view this as being 2 approaches either. You are either actively trying to improve, or stagnating. The latter is not an approach. Teams that sit at the bottom of the league for a decade don't suddenly win it all, because they find a QB and then build around him. It's not a thing. Teams that pull themselves up off the bottom, do so, by flooding the whole roster with talent - and finding a QB somewhere in there. The teams that see immediate success when teh QB arrives are the ones that have been building all along. Improving incrementally regardless of QB situation. 

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Smart move, when Clady played he was solid and this injury was to his shoulder not his legs.  We could retain
him for one year and draft a developmental LT (Davenport from Bucknell or Garcia from Troy) and have a
young long term OLine going forward

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$10mm seems like an awfully high cap hit for him and 2017.   That being said, my guess is that a hold the fort guy, like a Whitworth or Reiff, could be at least $7mm, if not more.  

But they will never know the QBs they have unless some is blocking for them.  Clady was not terrible, and better than anyone else, when he was on the field.  The Jets beat the Bills and almost beat the Bengals with Clady on the field.  At $5mm he was a no brainer.   I think the fair move here is another $5mm with bonuses (that go into next year's cap) if he plays 8, 12 and 16 games.  

If they Jets were certain to get an LT at 6 you don't do this move.    I think 6 will be a QB, S or RB.

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42 minutes ago, j4jets said:

Finally a good call. But curious why clash agreed to let his bonus be converted to base salary. It just gives Jets more time to release him. Maybe he's willing to prove it to us. 

I think it's probably a bit of a win-win situation.  Nobody was going to be in a rush to sign an injured Clady, so he likely would have just been sitting out in the FA pool on his own, until he was able to convince a team he was ready to play.  In this case, it gives the Jets the first crack at retaining Clady if they so choose, while it gives Clady a medical staff to work with in the meantime, which should help him for this coming season with the Jets or another team.  Not to mention, while I can't imagine the Jets retaining him at this #, I'm sure Clady is well aware that the $10M is more than any FA offers he'd be getting.

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No-brainer decision considering this...

1. No great LT options in FA. And the ones that ARE out there will cost just as much $$$ as Clady, probably more. But with Clady's injury woes, the Jets coudl probably get a discount or a low guarantee deal. JMHO- I'm not a GM and don't know exactly what goes into contract negotiations. 

2. The draft has exactly 2 Day one starters. And both will go in the first round. And neither is 'worthy' of the 6th overall pick. Cam Robinson and Ryan Ramczyk. On top of that, you have off the field red flags with Cam and Ryan is going under the knife in the offseason with hip surgery.

3. There ARE however some very nice developmental LT prospects that will be available outside of the 1st round. Retaining Clady- or at least waiting to see how he heals and possibly offering him a deal without a lot of guaranteed money or incentives for how many games he plays, etc. (again I'm not a GM and don't know exactly what goes into contract negotiations) would make sense. It's a critical position, especially if you plan to have a young QB take the reins as starter. I expect Hack to get a shot to start this season. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE C-HACK!     

Looks like Macc is making sure the O-line remains intact before the draft and FA even begins.

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The Jets and LT Ryan Clady agreed to a contract restructure, delaying a $2.5 million roster bonus and lumping it into his 2017 base salary.

The bonus was due next month, but with Clady coming off yet another season-ending injury, the Jets wanted more time to evaluate the situation. Clady is now carrying a $10 million salary for 2017, none of which is guaranteed. The team can hold onto him through the summer or until GM Mike Maccagnan finds a new starting left tackle.
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I rather let him go and save money. Next season is shaping up to be a lost season with no viable QB at sight. Release injury plagued vets with high price tag, go with young players. If even 1 or 2 of the young guys pan out, you are OK. Worst case, you will pick in Top 5 for 2018 where QB class looks more promising.


Here's a potential flip side to this ...

We start Hack at QB. Or strike gold with a rookie (see : Prescott, Dak). He plays really well and we win games ... then he gets IR'd after our young guy at LT gets him killed.

Not saying it'll happen ... not saying it couldn't happen with Clady playing ... but the risk exists that you find your QB and get him killed soon after.

Sent from my XT1068 using Tapatalk

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Finally a good call. But curious why clash agreed to let his bonus be converted to base salary. It just gives Jets more time to release him. Maybe he's willing to prove it to us. 

Probably because if he doesn't, he'll be cut and have nothing.

Sent from my XT1068 using Tapatalk

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33 minutes ago, PepPep said:

No-brainer decision considering this...

1. No great LT options in FA. And the ones that ARE out there will cost just as much $$$ as Clady, probably more. But with Clady's injury woes, the Jets coudl probably get a discount or a low guarantee deal. JMHO- I'm not a GM and don't know exactly what goes into contract negotiations. 

2. The draft has exactly 2 Day one starters. And both will go in the first round. And neither is 'worthy' of the 6th overall pick. Cam Robinson and Ryan Ramczyk. On top of that, you have off the field red flags with Cam and Ryan is going under the knife in the offseason with hip surgery.

3. There ARE however some very nice developmental LT prospects that will be available outside of the 1st round. Retaining Clady- or at least waiting to see how he heals and possibly offering him a deal without a lot of guaranteed money or incentives for how many games he plays, etc. (again I'm not a GM and don't know exactly what goes into contract negotiations) would make sense. It's a critical position, especially if you plan to have a young QB take the reins as starter. I expect Hack to get a shot to start this season. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE C-HACK!     

Looks like Macc is making sure the O-line remains intact before the draft and FA even begins.

According to whom ?

 

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21 minutes ago, Tinstar said:

According to whom ?

 

LOL According to me alone.

Of course you will have other LTs in the draft that will end up starting in the NFL. Last year G.Ifedi was projected as a 'raw' prospect and many said the Hawks reached for him late in the first round b/c they needed immediate O-line help (which may be true). But he ended up being a solid starter for them.

But I think those two are the only ones you can really assume are plug and play OTs at this juncture.  

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Can't fault the Jets for kicking the tires here. There are no LTs available that are worth the 6th pick. If Clady can prove he's healthy and motivated, we should give him the ability to restructure his contract and revive his career here. He played solid in his few appearances last year.

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I think this also helps the jets here in another way

Who will they pick in the 1st?

This question frustrating here on jn , the hack reporters, etc.. but more importantly other teams

If I'm holding the 6th pick in the draft I want to keep all those LT needy, QB needy, other position needy teams guessing as much as possible thereby increasing the possible trade value of the pick.

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I think this also helps the jets here in another way

Who will they pick in the 1st?

This question frustrating here on jn , the hack reporters, etc.. but more importantly other teams

If I'm holding the 6th pick in the draft I want to keep all those LT needy, QB needy, other position needy teams guessing as much as possible thereby increasing the possible trade value of the pick.

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4 hours ago, ScarletKnight89 said:

I do not want the Jets to resign this guy. We have got to start looking to the future for Offensive line. I get there might not be a lot of options but I want the Jets to explore many before bringing Clady back.

That is what this re-work enables the Jets to do.....No guaranteed $$$ is due Clady until he's on the week 1 roster.

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11 hours ago, Integrity28 said:

With no day-1 starters at LT in this draft, it makes sense to have something lined up ... but Clady's price tag has to account for him never playing 16 games. 

Cam Robinson can start at LT from day 1

 

But there are waaayyyy too many great prospects at 6.  If Clady accepts a cut to $1-2 mil salary fine

 

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