Athletic Report: A ‘ton‘ of free agents have said no to NYJ

[peekskill68]

11 minutes ago, Pac said:

By all accounts we had one of the better group of FA signings.  Not sure why they're making it sound like the Jets missed out on most of their targets.

This report is invalid.

Trolling Jets fans is a regular operation for most "journalists" who cover the NFL.  Generates clicks and a few laughs in the press room...

[Jets Voice of Reason]

Sounds like the Jets were involved with a lot of free agents, which is different than they got turned down by a lot of free agents. For better or worse the Jets are disciplined with trade offers and contract negotiations and if anything they probably backed out a lot of escalating bids because it left their value zone.

All of it is also known, guys are competitive and want to win and the Jets aren't a destination for that untiil they start winning games and Zach Wilson shows he can be a franchise QB. Once that flips, players will want to come. For instance, no one actually wants to go to Cincy or Buffalo but because both teams have winning organizations right now players will sign there. Same thing will happen here if we flip the ship.

[ChewyandtheJets]

Guess this is (yet) another opportunity to state the obvious.  There are a number of teams that don’t attract FAs because they are bad.  The only way they take them is to badly overpay aka Jacksonville this year and the jets previous years.   In the process they assure they stay bad.   It is a catch 22.  The only way out is too build as we are now doing through the draft while bringing in younger (hopefully ascending) JAs  for fair market contracts,  it is slow and sometimes painful but from watching all these years it is the only way out.  I like what Joe Douglas has done and look forward to this draft.  Unfortunately in a league that is so QB-centric all the bets laid plans can go astray if that one decision is the incorrect one.  Unfair but that’s the reality.  I am choosing optimism for this coming season. Hop on board my fellow brothers and let’s try to enjoy this season with fingers crossed.  

[Dcat]

54 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

It sucks when pure speculation makes it out there like this.

Hill and who else? 

 

Yeah... where's the enormous list of FA's that shunned the Jets, outside of Ty Hill who lives in Florida to begin with?  I'm not doubting the truth, but this is a garbage article without naming names.   

[FidelioJet]

1 hour ago, Jet Nut said:

It sucks when pure speculation makes it out there like this.

Hill and who else? 

 

Yup.  
Twi things. 
1) Hill had a contract already done with the Jets. He was coming here. But a Miami came in at the last minute. And he chose Miami over the Jets.  But he was absolutely ready to play here

2) Who were all these big ticket free agents that sighed elsewhere?

Jets probably signed the best G in FA and a top corner.  And didn’t overpay.  
 

Now, I’m sure there’s some truth to it - but it’s not nearly as bad as this is making it out to be 

[Jet Nut]

21 minutes ago, GreenFish said:

Marcus Williams took a lesser offer to go to the Ravens.

And that’s tons,  I don’t even know how hard they went after Williams and that they took it to the final point

[56mehl56]

40 minutes ago, Gangrene said:

All of the above is true.

I'd have to think if they had managed a West Side stadium or say their own stadium in the Navy Yard in Brooklyn  or over the rail yards in Long Island City, an NYC stadium would have given them an extra leg up to attract free agents.

So now selling point on a player is the stadium they play in ?.  In addition the Jets training facility at Florham Park is top notch and maybe top 10 in the league, If I'm a player I value that more than the place where I spend 8-9 days a year.  

[DonCorleone]

1 hour ago, Zachtomims47 said:

https://theathletic.com/3210826/2022/04/08/nfl-free-agency-news-intel/

Tyreek Hill showed up the Jets when laughing off their interest in him, and in some ways it was a reminder of how far the organization still must travel to become relevant.

“What I heard on the Jets is, they were in on a ton of guys and got nobody,” an exec said. “They don’t have a selling point to players right now. People don’t know what to think of Zach Wilson, players don’t necessarily covet playing in that market, and guys who have choices tend to wind up elsewhere. They are in this weird purgatory.”

The truth hurts, but there’s more to it than that. The Jets were able to sign a long list of players to more modest APYs: guard Laken Tomlinson($13.3 million), cornerback D.J. Reed ($11 million), tight end C.J. Uzomah ($8 million), safety Jordan Whitehead ($7.3 million), tight end Tyler Conklin ($6.8 million), pass rusher Jacob Martin ($4.5 million) and more.

“They drafted some decent starters to fill needs, and if they can draft an impact ‘blue’ with those top-10 picks, that is big,” an exec said. “I’m good with the process. The Jets of old would go and spend huge money in free agency and have it not work. Instead of running up the hill, they are hiking up the hill the correct way. They need their young quarterback and young receivers to get better, and then can they be sounder on defense? I don’t think they are ready to jump to the playoffs, but they are getting better.”

"They are getting better"

The record certainly does not show it. You can have any outcome on paper, but if it does not translate to wins, it a clear indication that they are not getting better, it is simply wishful thinking. 

Better to me would mean meaningful games throughout the regular season. AT least for now.

[Fantasy Island]

When the FA’s we target or try to trade for are a QB, we will see more FAs want to come here.  Zach is a project at this point.

#2 pick In 2021 was a project

#4 and 10 this year can not be projects too or we are really screwed.

 

 

[Greensleeves]

1 hour ago, Jet Nut said:

It sucks when pure speculation makes it out there like this.

Hill and who else? 

 

Hill wasn't a free agent and lives in Florida with his girlfriend. Tomlinson is not a 2nd or 3rd tier FA - he's a pro bowler. This article is lazy through and through. Obviously if a guy is in the latter stages of his career and wants to win now he isn't picking the Jets. By next year that may not be true.

[PepPep]

There are a few things at play here. 

1. Money: Let's be real here. While JD was willing to dole out a ton of cash for Hill. Hill was NEVER going anywhere but Miami. This was a unique circumstance. But for the most part, JD has been pretty frugal with his cap. Money is a BIG part of FA to most players. 

2. WINNING: The Jets are not a playoff team. YET. Obviously top tier players, if they have a choice- which they usually do, want to go to winning teams. Its pretty simple. Now, do they Jets need to win a SB to start attracting top end FA. NO. Do they need to make the playoffs? Probably not even. They just need to be considerably better than the pathetic 2-14 team they were last year. I believe they can do it and they can do it in short order. 

3. Location, location, location: I think this matter to SOME FA more than others. Hill is a great example. He was going to Miami which was his top choice because of the location. Not because the Dolphins are good or because Tua is a great QB. I don't think there are a ton of players that will spurn the Jets just because its NYC/NJ. That seems silly to me. Other things being equal, there are PLENTY of other cities players would rather NOT live in. Buffalo? Cincy? Sure, there are other factors like taxes, etc. But honestly, I don't think this is a major factor for the Jets.     

4. Ownership, Coaching, Fit Direction: I put this under one category, but its really looking at the direction of the franchise and how you fit into it. Any big name FA is signing up for big money, with big expectation for multiple years. This kind of stuff is critical. I think the Jets have finally hired a competent GM and have a coach (although unproven) who players believe in. This is not something I am particularly worried about for the Jets RIGHT NOW. 

*All the Jets need to do to attract better FAs is WIN a few more games and start to compete for the playoffs. If Zach takes a leap and if players stay healthy I think they can win 7-8 games next season. It would be a huge improvement but it's not absurd to think that. This would IMMEDIATELY make this a team that was viewed as young, ascending and attractive to more FAs.   

[Tranquilo]

Time for a new strategy then 

[nycdan]

Welcome to 21st century 'journalism'.  

Step 1) Create the narrative you think will garner the most clicks and attention

Step 2) Create an article to support the narrative in Step 1.

Knock the Jets for being a circus was a good play for the last few years.  The team provided a nearly endless stream of gaffes and drama since the end of the double-AFCCG era.  This year, not so much.  JAX, WFT, and to a lesser extent, MIA have really stepped into the vacuum with a vengeance, but I guess there isn't a lot of money in writing articles about how bad those teams are.  So back to Step 1.

Honestly, although there are no small number of so-called fans here who love nothing more than finding something to bash about the team beyond any reasonable exploration of the facts, the team has run a pretty tight ship this offseason.  They signed a number of good FAs at reasonable deals.  They spent most of their cap doing so.  They accumulated a number of premium draft picks.  The biggest disappointment to some of our less rational posters is that they haven't traded Becton for a 6th round pick or cut Quinnen Williams.  I'd say we're doing all right given the massive hole we started out from under the careful stewardship of Macc and Gase not that long ago.

 

[playtowinthegame]

A TON OF FREE AGENTS HAVE SAID YES!

[DonCorleone]

1 hour ago, kmnj said:

yep you are what your record says you are-at some point Joe's teams need to win games-tearing down a 7 win team to a 2 win team takes no talent -literally anybody can do that-what takes talent and what not many people can do is build that torn down team into a winning team.

If you cant add quality free agents you best hit most of your draft picks-a rebuild cant happen when your guys like becton and mims suck and cant get on the field. 

Sad, sad reality. Some people on this board have trashed ZW (some deserved criticism and some not) and have given Becton a pass. They forget that the coaches were NOT happy with Becton before the season, before even the preseason. I wonder why.

[Jet9]

'An exec said....'  Some people never learn.

 

That said, there sure are a ton of northeast plates down here in Alabama now when for years you only had Midwest and Southern people. NJ is home, but I can see the locale not being for everyone. 

[GreenFish]

31 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

And that’s tons,  I don’t even know how hard they went after Williams and that they took it to the final point

It’s not a ton. But you asked if there were players other than Hill.

By all reports, we really wanted Marcus Williams but needed to get near $17 per year to land him.

Hill and Williams are two for sure that we missed out. Other possibles: BJ Hill and DJ Jones are two other guys we went after but missed out on. There was less reporting on those two. So it’s not clear why we missed out on them.

[Warfish]

10 minutes ago, nycdan said:

...so-called fans...

It must be a day ending in -Y, the Homers are insulting/questioning the fandom of other fans again.

10 minutes ago, nycdan said:

.....the team has run a pretty tight ship this offseason.  They signed a number of good FAs at reasonable deals.  They spent most of their cap doing so.  They accumulated a number of premium draft picks. 

We are, on paper, better at O-line, CB and TE, primarily.  And we do indeed have quite a few picks in this coming draft.

10 minutes ago, nycdan said:

The biggest disappointment to some of our less rational posters is that they haven't traded Becton for a 6th round pick or cut Quinnen Williams.

I don't see either move as rational, personally.

10 minutes ago, nycdan said:

  I'd say we're doing all right given the massive hole we started out from under the careful stewardship of Macc and Gase not that long ago.

Great. 

As long as we finally see some meaningful improvement in the record books, with wins, then all is well.

A 4 or 6 win season this deep into JD's tenure simply isn't going to keep cutting it.

[CTJetsFan]

1 hour ago, Adoni Beast said:

Build it and they will come.

Hit on the draft picks + hope Zack become the guy you drafted him to be.

This

[Joe W. Namath]

24 minutes ago, DonCorleone said:

"They are getting better"

The record certainly does not show it. You can have any outcome on paper, but if it does not translate to wins, it a clear indication that they are not getting better, it is simply wishful thinking. 

Better to me would mean meaningful games throughout the regular season. AT least for now.

They went from 2 wins in adam gase's last year to 4 wins in year 1 of a ground up rebuild.  So they they are improving and getting better.

That will show even more this year when they win btwn 7-9 games.

[T0mShane]

1 hour ago, Zachtomims47 said:

People don’t know what to think of Zach Wilson

They know what they think of Zach Wilson.

[Drums]

I like that JD won’t overpay. Good. When has overpaying really worked out for us? It is a dumb idea. Build it and they will come. I think JD is building it. 

[nycdan]

17 minutes ago, Warfish said:

It must be a day ending in -Y, the Homers are insulting/questioning the fandom of other fans again.

We are, on paper, better at O-line, CB and TE, primarily.  And we do indeed have quite a few picks in this coming draft.

I don't see either move as rational, personally.

Great. 

As long as we finally see some meaningful improvement in the record books, with wins, then all is well.

A 4 or 6 win season this deep into JD's tenure simply isn't going to keep cutting it.

I didn't name names but you apparently wanted to step up into it.  Your choice.

So talking about wins.  Perhaps the biggest story of last season wasn't the play of Quinnen, or even Zach, but the injury pileup that never seemed to stop.  Now I'm not saying that's bad luck.  There may be more to it (field, conditioning program, trainers....I don't know).  But imagine last season with a healthy Lawson and Becton and maybe a few less injuries at WR.  Could that have translated into 6 wins?  Maybe.  We got blown out more than a few times but there were 5 games we lost by a TD or less that could have gone the other way.  

The only stat I could easily find was that through Week 16, the Jets had the 4th most man-games lost in 2021.  The Giants were the highest.  That suggests something isn't right in the state of New Jersey.  That needs to change.

I am definitely concerned about those blowouts.  That can't keep happening.  One, two, maybe 3 in a season.  Not 8.  If that doesn't change this year, I would be extremely down on Saleh and Douglas.  

And yes.  I did use the term 'so-called fans' because criticism is certainly part of being a fan, but cycling through players/coaches to find the next guy who is responsible for all the teams ills, and who firing/trading/releasing will then be a step in the right direction, has become a favorite past-time for a few people here and it's exhausting.  Trading Becton for a day 3 pick isn't going to help this team but there are posters here who are all but demanding it.  Quinnen isn't Aaron Donald.  Boo hoo.  Getting rid of him isn't helping the team.  Firing Joe Douglas?  About as dumb a suggestion as there is.

Counterpoint:  The 'get rid of Darnold' position turned out to be right.  I wasn't convinced at the time but I absolutely acknowledge it now.  Whether Zach Wilson pans out or not doesn't change that.  Trading Jamal was another controversial position that I think almost everyone agrees with now.  But it does feel like the moment we move on from one of those type of players, some folks here are immediately scrambling to be the first to name the next target, like there's a prize for it.  And it's often the same people.  That's where I question the actual motivations.

[Jet2020]

1 hour ago, GangGreened said:

Water is also wet

Water? It’s a boiling pot out here. 

[RutgersJetFan]

This feels like one of those moments where a someone says it’s a ton and it was actually more like 3 guys. 

[JustInFudge]

54 minutes ago, Jets Voice of Reason said:

Sounds like the Jets were involved with a lot of free agents, which is different than they got turned down by a lot of free agents. For better or worse the Jets are disciplined with trade offers and contract negotiations and if anything they probably backed out a lot of escalating bids because it left their value zone.

All of it is also known, guys are competitive and want to win and the Jets aren't a destination for that untiil they start winning games and Zach Wilson shows he can be a franchise QB. Once that flips, players will want to come. For instance, no one actually wants to go to Cincy or Buffalo but because both teams have winning organizations right now players will sign there. Same thing will happen here if we flip the ship.

Agreed with all of this but in regards to the bold; I wouldnt be surprised if this report is real, that a lot of the no's were because JD put a number out and wouldnt budge vs. they're not even taking the phone call.  We know JD has a set # in his mind and isnt willing to come off both in contract negotiations and trades.  And it's not like he failed to sign anyone.  Reader, Whitehead, Uzomah, Conklin, Tomlinson, all had other options and chose the Jets.

And like you said, there is no question the Jets arent an attractive landing spot right now, so this isnt hard to believe.  You'd either have to be bought or you buy into the vision and how you play into that vision, which maybe some players do but I could totally understand why WR's are a little hesitant and that's the only position of significance that maybe the Jets have missed out on other wise, CB, OG, TE, S - all dire positions of need addressed, they landed.  

 

 

[Larz]

JD ruined Wilson with the idiotic plan last year of putting him with a rookie play caller and no veteran back up. 
 

the vibe around the league must be the jets are where your career dies. 
 

The kids from California, Texas and Florida don’t want to be here and the bills own the division 

 

JD was asleep at the wheel with Cooper. 
 

this should really end the WR rumor threads ☹️
 

[CanadaSteve]

2 hours ago, Zachtomims47 said:

https://theathletic.com/3210826/2022/04/08/nfl-free-agency-news-intel/

Tyreek Hill showed up the Jets when laughing off their interest in him, and in some ways it was a reminder of how far the organization still must travel to become relevant.

“What I heard on the Jets is, they were in on a ton of guys and got nobody,” an exec said. “They don’t have a selling point to players right now. People don’t know what to think of Zach Wilson, players don’t necessarily covet playing in that market, and guys who have choices tend to wind up elsewhere. They are in this weird purgatory.”

The truth hurts, but there’s more to it than that. The Jets were able to sign a long list of players to more modest APYs: guard Laken Tomlinson($13.3 million), cornerback D.J. Reed ($11 million), tight end C.J. Uzomah ($8 million), safety Jordan Whitehead ($7.3 million), tight end Tyler Conklin ($6.8 million), pass rusher Jacob Martin ($4.5 million) and more.

“They drafted some decent starters to fill needs, and if they can draft an impact ‘blue’ with those top-10 picks, that is big,” an exec said. “I’m good with the process. The Jets of old would go and spend huge money in free agency and have it not work. Instead of running up the hill, they are hiking up the hill the correct way. They need their young quarterback and young receivers to get better, and then can they be sounder on defense? I don’t think they are ready to jump to the playoffs, but they are getting better.”

Wait....there are a lot of Jets fans who are ready for JD's head because we didn't sign 15 of the top free agents by throwing huge dollars.  You mean....the PLAYERS are choosing not to play here until we get better, which would mean we have to draft better first?  

 

[Warfish]

19 minutes ago, nycdan said:

I didn't name names but you apparently wanted to step up into it.  Your choice.

I step up anytime one fan thinks he gets to decide what fandom looks like.  

19 minutes ago, nycdan said:

So talking about wins.  Perhaps the biggest story of last season wasn't the play of Quinnen, or even Zach, but the injury pileup that never seemed to stop.  Now I'm not saying that's bad luck.  There may be more to it (field, conditioning program, trainers....I don't know).  But imagine last season with a healthy Lawson and Becton and maybe a few less injuries at WR.  Could that have translated into 6 wins?  Maybe.  We got blown out more than a few times but there were 5 games we lost by a TD or less that could have gone the other way.  

The only stat I could easily find was that through Week 16, the Jets had the 4th most man-games lost in 2021.  The Giants were the highest.  That suggests something isn't right in the state of New Jersey.  That needs to change.

I am definitely concerned about those blowouts.  That can't keep happening.  One, two, maybe 3 in a season.  Not 8.  If that doesn't change this year, I would be extremely down on Saleh and Douglas.  

We've been one of the most injured teams for years running now. That's part of what a competent GM would need to fix.

And yes, the blowouts are a legit concern.  I'd say it more broadly, being "uncompetitive" is a legit concern, and we were mostly uncompetitive last year, with select exceptions.  

19 minutes ago, nycdan said:

And yes.  I did use the term 'so-called fans' because criticism is certainly part of being a fan, but cycling through players/coaches to find the next guy who is responsible for all the teams ills, and who firing/trading/releasing will then be a step in the right direction, has become a favorite past-time for a few people here and it's exhausting.  Trading Becton for a day 3 pick isn't going to help this team but there are posters here who are all but demanding it.  Quinnen isn't Aaron Donald.  Boo hoo.  Getting rid of him isn't helping the team.  Firing Joe Douglas?  About as dumb a suggestion as there is.

Then be critical of the suggestion, not the Fan's fandom. 

Neither you (nor I) get to define what being a Jets Fan is.  I may be pessimistic or critical more than hopeful, it does not make me in ANY way a "lesser" fan.  You or someone else may be an optimistic homer, always on the sunny side (and almost always wrong), but no one should question your fandom because of it, or because you tolerate losing more than others.  You just have a different personality, you're not a lesser fan.

Imagine if people were slamming positive people as just "casuals", who "don't care very much about wins and losses" and are fine with sucking as long as there is beer in the stadium.  If someone said that about you you'd be mad, rightfully so.  Because it's not true, being positive, a "homer", doesn't make you casual or a lesser fan, same way being demanding or pessimistic doesn't make me a lesser or less dedicated fan.

We want the same thing, a Jets Super Bowl title.  We may just have different viewpoints on how to get there.

19 minutes ago, nycdan said:

Counterpoint:  The 'get rid of Darnold' position turned out to be right.  I wasn't convinced at the time but I absolutely acknowledge it now.  Whether Zach Wilson pans out or not doesn't change that.  Trading Jamal was another controversial position that I think almost everyone agrees with now.  But it does feel like the moment we move on from one of those type of players, some folks here are immediately scrambling to be the first to name the next target, like there's a prize for it.  And it's often the same people.  That's where I question the actual motivations.

The cynics have been correct alot more often than the optimists in recent years, sadly.  But we all want our Jets to win and win a Title.

We should separate prognostication from desire.  I may think Zach Wilson is a bust (and perhaps I do), but I do not WANT him to be a bust.  In discussing him I may say "he was the worst in the NFL in 2021" because he was, that's an objective fact, but I don't WANT it to be true in 2022, which is why I've been lobbying so hard to support Zach with more and better Offensive skill-position players.  I want him to prove me wrong, and no one would be happier to mea cupla over a Pro Bowl-level Zach Wilson than I would be!

I'm not questioning your specific positions on specific issues here.  I'm unhappy that any fans thinks he or she has the right to tell other fans they're not "real" fans, pure and simple.  It's wrong, and we shouldn't do it, in either direction. 

[Spoot-Face]

2 hours ago, jbt said:

how many is a ton?

 

Approximately 1/2 the weight of @The Crusher

[Bronx]

We need to earn respect. 

[HawkeyeJet]

What I always find interesting about stories and anonymous quotes from “execs” like this is that the Jets are so much an afterthought people are turning them down left and right, yet this exec, assuming from a much better organization(in their view) still feels it necessary to put this out in public. 

This seems like college dirty recruiting to me.  If you are taking time to dump on another program, you probably don’t have much to sell either.

[THE BARON]

2 hours ago, Augustiniak said:

Wonder if this will inspire them to make sure they get a wr to try and fix the offense rather than focus on d in round 1.

JD added two tight ends in FA.  This may be an indication that the CS is communicating with the GM about how best to help Wilson and the offense.   I would also think that JD will be drafting a WR at spot # 10 in the draft or if not there, with their first second round pick.  Oddly enough, the WR's that go in the second round may very well wind up with more production that the WR"s that go in the first round. 

[DonCorleone]

46 minutes ago, Joe W. Namath said:

They went from 2 wins in adam gase's last year to 4 wins in year 1 of a ground up rebuild.  So they they are improving and getting better.

That will show even more this year when they win btwn 7-9 games.

Oh yeah, 4 wins is way better. And the defense was fantastic. I get that you are an optimist, but please......

[UnknownJetFan]

2 hours ago, LockeJET said:

This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. The team has stunk for a decade, Lacks real star talent, especially with Wilson still being an unknown. There were also plenty of teams with money and the pieces to make trades. So unless we completely overpaid, we weren’t gonna land the big names with all things being equal. Having said that I’m fine with the process. This coming draft is very important to the future of our team. 

Agreed. This is like the 12 pick Idzak draft opportunity even though we have 9 picks since we have more higher ones in the top 2 rounds and trade downs may net around a dozen picks. So, in the same manner JD needs to get multiple good, very good, and maybe a few even better than that players(that Idzak didn't do) and Jets need to put it all together and be at least somewhere around .500 record wise next year to try and show FA/trade related players we are close and just need a little more to playoff contend.