Is Lake Tomlinson in or out?

[Maynard13]

Tomlinson was terrible in 2022. Better in 2023 but still was a liability. Not sure about his contract stipulations but JD needs to either move on or bench this scrub. We desperately need 3 OL to go along with AVT and Tippman. Becton was terrible last year. Can’t see them franchising him. Would cost a fortune and highly risky. JD will have to sign an experienced vet to play left or right tackle. In Round 1 JD has to take another Tackle, either left or right. Or they could trade back and get an extra pick in round 2 and take Tackle in round 1 and a center or guard in round 2. Tippman offers that flexibility to play center or guard which gives us options. This is going to be very interesting. 

[doitny]

i just dont think we can get 3 new OL. 

one in the 1st rd but your asking for another Tackle and Guard in FA? i dont think we can get a good one. i think if we put a good Tackle next to him and with Tippman hopefully better in year 2 he should be better.

and Rodgers will help too.

 

[rangerous]

I think they need to wait and see what the draft and free agency brings before keeping or cutting.  There’s something to be said for a guy who doesn’t get injured much and it’s not like he’s at the rock bottom of any grading system.  And he’s played with tipp at center so maybe their section of the oline isn’t quite so bad. Maybe a restructure could be in the works.

[Bobby816]

Generally JD doesn't cut guys until he has a replacement (smart FYI). So if we cant land a better OG than him in FA. He'll be a starting OG for us

[The Crusher]

I think Tomlinson might be the type that plays  better when the other guys next to him do too. So, we probably screwed.,

[JetPotato]

58 minutes ago, Bobby816 said:

Generally JD doesn't cut guys until he has a replacement (smart FYI). So if we cant land a better OG than him in FA. He'll be a starting OG for us

If Tomlinson is starting next year, it'll be one of the reasons they miss the playoffs again.

[68JET11]

He should no longer be at LG, if he is anywhere on that line it should be RG, and give LG back to AVT so he can be next to our new stud LT we draft.

[JetsFanatic]

At least Tomlinson stays on the field. He should be our RG, AVT should be LG.

[hawk]

Tomlinson is already on the roster, and we can go through the off-season with him on it.  If we are able to secure players to replace him and still fill the line he should be released after June 1.  

This will provide insurance if we do not get a full line in free agency, and cap.flexibility if he isn't needed.  He should not be depth at his salary, but there is an argument for that as well.

[k-met57]

i think Tomlinson plays better on a better line, i would be ok bringing him back assuming 2 new starting level OL.

[Claymation]

Where is Lake Tomlinson, is that upstate?

And its too cold to jump in, so I will just stay out at least for now.

[varjet]

for the OL they are trying to run, AVT actually works better at RG.

signing FA OL will be hard.  There are not many of them, Keith Carter is the coach, Saleh and Hackett are laughing stocks and no one wants to play on the MetLife turf. 
 

I think Tomlinson ends up with more job security than he deserves. 

[Barry McCockinner]

send him to the Bills so PFF can give him good numbers and people cry about why we didn't keep him.

[bla bla bla]

2 hours ago, rangerous said:

I think they need to wait and see what the draft and free agency brings before keeping or cutting.  There’s something to be said for a guy who doesn’t get injured much and it’s not like he’s at the rock bottom of any grading system.  And he’s played with tipp at center so maybe their section of the oline isn’t quite so bad. Maybe a restructure could be in the works.

This is my thinking as well. I'd hold Tomlinson til training camp to make sure his replacement has beaten him out. Not to mention the cap savings is a little better post June 1st and gives you leverage if you want Laken to take a pay cut since teams will have rounded out their rosters by the end of camp

[OtherwiseHappyinLife]

Come on guys.  This is an easy one if we are serious about winning.

He's a bottom tier starting guard who is making top tier money.

His $12.6M salary and net $8M+ cap savings make this a no brainer.  

The Jets can both upgrade and still save net cap dollars after upgrading.

[OtherwiseHappyinLife]

Yet .... I thought cutting Carl Lawson's $11M salary last year was a no brainer....

Some horrible front office decisions recently.  Hey JD, don't perpetuate the Laken mistake. 

[PepPep]

3 hours ago, Maynard13 said:

Tomlinson was terrible in 2022. Better in 2023 but still was a liability. Not sure about his contract stipulations but JD needs to either move on or bench this scrub. We desperately need 3 OL to go along with AVT and Tippman. Becton was terrible last year. Can’t see them franchising him. Would cost a fortune and highly risky. JD will have to sign an experienced vet to play left or right tackle. In Round 1 JD has to take another Tackle, either left or right. Or they could trade back and get an extra pick in round 2 and take Tackle in round 1 and a center or guard in round 2. Tippman offers that flexibility to play center or guard which gives us options. This is going to be very interesting. 

Pretty much agree. I think Tomlinson goes. His value as a healthy starter does not make up for his poor play and more importantly the 8mil cap he will free up if cut. He is, simply put, a cap casualty. JD will go after a vet LT (as we are not in clear position to draft one of the top 2 LT prospects). He will probably draft Fuaga and plug him in at RT. And newly freed Guard spot will figure itself out - either JD will draft a C and put Tippy at G or JD will sign a decent vet G or JD will draft a G - or a combination of the two. But Tomlinson will be cut, JMHO.   

2 hours ago, doitny said:

i just dont think we can get 3 new OL. 

one in the 1st rd but your asking for another Tackle and Guard in FA? i dont think we can get a good one. i think if we put a good Tackle next to him and with Tippman hopefully better in year 2 he should be better.

and Rodgers will help too.

 

I don't think its as hard as some make it seem. You don't need 3 really good o-linemen to play with Tippy and AVT to make a rock solid o-line (as a whole). Draft Fuaga in Rd. 1 to cover the right side (JD seems to love him). Say what you will about his overall upside or qualifications a sa top 10 prospect, he is a plug and play prospect at RT. He can step right in and start as the Jets RT in 2024. Then go hard after Alaric Jackson to man the left side OT position. He's not an amazing stud at the position and you will probably have to overpay. But he is a quality vet with experience at LT without a ton of injury history. And he is not too long in the tooth so if he works out he may be a long term solution. Then sign a decent, solid, starting caliber vet Guard. This is probably the easiest part. There happen to be a lot of options on the FA market this year. Doesn't have to be a pricey player. Heck, draft Zack Zinter in Rd. 3 and add more depth to the G spot if you are unsure about it. But the o-line of Jackson, vet FA guard (Zeitler/Vaitai/Glasgow + Rookie?), Tippy, AVT, Fuaga is fine with me. It has the potential to be very good despite going through some inevitable early growing pains. Keeping Tomlinson around will not help IMHO. 

And listen, I know there are a lot of people who will say - but we have other needs, we need to draft or sign a WR, we need to re-sign our own players, we need a backup QB, etc, etc. I agree. But O-line is priority #1. It supersedes all other offseason concerns. I don't think we should be looking at a pricey WR in FA if it hurts our chances of improving the o-line. I don't think we should be looking at a pricey backup QB if it hurts our chances of improving the o-line. I don't think we should be looking to draft Brock Bowers or a WR if there is an O-lineman we like at 10 (even if he's not one of the top 2 guys). This WR class is SO stacked you can find a quality WR who will contribute in Rd. 3 or even Rd. 4. You can sign a mid range FA WR to help GW AND draft a WR in rd. 4 with some traits that will help the offense. 

If we signed Ridley in FA and drafted: Pearsal, Rice, Corley, Cowing, Polk, R.Wilson or J.Wilson in Rd. 3 or 4 , any one of these guys, our WR corps would be solid.  

[Jetsfan80]

2 hours ago, JetsFanatic said:

At least Tomlinson stays on the field. 

Probably be better off if he didn’t.

[mrcoops]

He should absolutely be designated a post June 1st cut.  Move AVT back where he belongs at Left Guard, and find a cheaper alternative at Right Guard in FA or the draft.  I don't see any point in holding onto him at his salary for the sake of "continuity" when the line was a disaster last season anyway.

[Bobby816]

3 hours ago, JetPotato said:

If Tomlinson is starting next year, it'll be one of the reasons they miss the playoffs again.

I'd love to upgrade from him. My point was simple as that they wont cut him until we've replaced him.

[JetPotato]

2 minutes ago, Bobby816 said:

I'd love to upgrade from him. My point was simple as that they wont cut him until we've replaced him.

My problem with this is if they draft a guy to replace him, the kid can outperform him all preseason and Tomlinson is still going to start. That's how this team operates. Either the coaches aren't astute enough to recognize the talent or someone in the org demands that the big contract guy gets the playing time. Performance isn't much of a factor. As long as Tomlinson is on the roster, he's going to play. And he shouldn't be playing under any circumstance. He sucks.

[bitonti]

JD is the king of waiting too long to admit a mistake

right now he's thinking about Laken recapturing his Pro Bowl form 

either that or pretzels 

[Sperm Edwards]

1 hour ago, PepPep said:

Pretty much agree. I think Tomlinson goes. His value as a healthy starter does not make up for his poor play and more importantly the 8mil cap he will free up if cut. He is, simply put, a cap casualty. JD will go after a vet LT (as we are not in clear position to draft one of the top 2 LT prospects). He will probably draft Fuaga and plug him in at RT. And newly freed Guard spot will figure itself out - either JD will draft a C and put Tippy at G or JD will sign a decent vet G or JD will draft a G - or a combination of the two. But Tomlinson will be cut, JMHO.   

I don't think its as hard as some make it seem. You don't need 3 really good o-linemen to play with Tippy and AVT to make a rock solid o-line (as a whole). Draft Fuaga in Rd. 1 to cover the right side (JD seems to love him). Say what you will about his overall upside or qualifications a sa top 10 prospect, he is a plug and play prospect at RT. He can step right in and start as the Jets RT in 2024. Then go hard after Alaric Jackson to man the left side OT position. He's not an amazing stud at the position and you will probably have to overpay. But he is a quality vet with experience at LT without a ton of injury history. And he is not too long in the tooth so if he works out he may be a long term solution. Then sign a decent, solid, starting caliber vet Guard. This is probably the easiest part. There happen to be a lot of options on the FA market this year. Doesn't have to be a pricey player. Heck, draft Zack Zinter in Rd. 3 and add more depth to the G spot if you are unsure about it. But the o-line of Jackson, vet FA guard (Zeitler/Vaitai/Glasgow + Rookie?), Tippy, AVT, Fuaga is fine with me. It has the potential to be very good despite going through some inevitable early growing pains. Keeping Tomlinson around will not help IMHO. 

And listen, I know there are a lot of people who will say - but we have other needs, we need to draft or sign a WR, we need to re-sign our own players, we need a backup QB, etc, etc. I agree. But O-line is priority #1. It supersedes all other offseason concerns. I don't think we should be looking at a pricey WR in FA if it hurts our chances of improving the o-line. I don't think we should be looking at a pricey backup QB if it hurts our chances of improving the o-line. I don't think we should be looking to draft Brock Bowers or a WR if there is an O-lineman we like at 10 (even if he's not one of the top 2 guys). This WR class is SO stacked you can find a quality WR who will contribute in Rd. 3 or even Rd. 4. You can sign a mid range FA WR to help GW AND draft a WR in rd. 4 with some traits that will help the offense. 

If we signed Ridley in FA and drafted: Pearsal, Rice, Corley, Cowing, Polk, R.Wilson or J.Wilson in Rd. 3 or 4 , any one of these guys, our WR corps would be solid.  

Agree with all this except he clears even more: $13MM (his cash payout for the year), making it even more of a no-brainer.

Two FAs and one draft pick isn't as crazy as it sounds. It's only crazy if the line was good last year and these are changes being juggled for $ reasons. In the Jets' case, though, they're not dumping him for a lower cost option despite his high level of play. They'd be dumping him because he's high-priced, that $ isn't guaranteed anymore, and a replacement will likely be - at worst - a lateral move. 

• Fuaga (or whatever tackle in round 1; others know better than I do)
• FA tackle (e.g. Jonah Williams, or whomever is the best who'll sign here)
• FA G/C, again the best who'll sign here, to replace Tomlinson. Or worst case is that's the weaker link at one of the guard spots, a meh guard who's not nearly $13MM, competing with the likes of McGovern, Mitchell, Warren, etc. I prefer more of a sure thing, with AVT missing most of the season twice in a row that depth may be starting for us again, but it's not like moving mountains.

If they were missing their 1st round pick and then had to go shopping for two starting tackles in FA, it'd be a bit stickier. But heading into the draft where they'll have a fairly safe choice among one of 3 acceptable starters, it's not that bad.

They could use another WR, that's for sure. Really they need two more, replacing not just Davis who dumped us in August, but also Hardmann & Cobb. Lazard is here for the season, should be better with Rodgers behind center, and he wouldn't be any worse than he was  last year if he was simply injured instead. Too early to tell who'd be interested in signing here.

Rounds 3 or later... it's also way too early to target anybody. Targeting a position sounds good on paper, but the next-best WR may be a full round worse (talent-wise) than the next-best available CB, OL, LB, etc. Won't know until the 3rd round starts, tbh, to see who got drafted unexpectedly early & who's still unexpectedly on the board for our 3rd round pick.

[BigRy56]

I think ultimately he is in with a pay cut

[Maynard13]

31 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

Agree with all this except he clears even more: $13MM (his cash payout for the year), making it even more of a no-brainer.

Two FAs and one draft pick isn't as crazy as it sounds. It's only crazy if the line was good last year and these are changes being juggled for $ reasons. In the Jets' case, though, they're not dumping him for a lower cost option despite his high level of play. They'd be dumping him because he's high-priced, that $ isn't guaranteed anymore, and a replacement will likely be - at worst - a lateral move. 

• Fuaga (or whatever tackle in round 1; others know better than I do)
• FA tackle (e.g. Jonah Williams, or whomever is the best who'll sign here)
• FA G/C, again the best who'll sign here, to replace Tomlinson. Or worst case is that's the weaker link at one of the guard spots, a meh guard who's not nearly $13MM, competing with the likes of McGovern, Mitchell, Warren, etc. I prefer more of a sure thing, with AVT missing most of the season twice in a row that depth may be starting for us again, but it's not like moving mountains.

If they were missing their 1st round pick and then had to go shopping for two starting tackles in FA, it'd be a bit stickier. But heading into the draft where they'll have a fairly safe choice among one of 3 acceptable starters, it's not that bad.

They could use another WR, that's for sure. Really they need two more, replacing not just Davis who dumped us in August, but also Hardmann & Cobb. Lazard is here for the season, should be better with Rodgers behind center, and he wouldn't be any worse than he was  last year if he was simply injured instead. Too early to tell who'd be interested in signing here.

Rounds 3 or later... it's also way too early to target anybody. Targeting a position sounds good on paper, but the next-best WR may be a full round worse (talent-wise) than the next-best available CB, OL, LB, etc. Won't know until the 3rd round starts, tbh, to see who got drafted unexpectedly early & who's still unexpectedly on the board for our 3rd round pick.

I feel much relief after reading this. Ahhhhhhhh. Let the purge begin. 

[Sperm Edwards]

2 minutes ago, Maynard13 said:

I feel much relief after reading this. Ahhhhhhhh. Let the purge begin. 

[Adoni Beast]

5 hours ago, hawk said:

Tomlinson is already on the roster, and we can go through the off-season with him on it.  If we are able to secure players to replace him and still fill the line he should be released after June 1.  

This will provide insurance if we do not get a full line in free agency, and cap.flexibility if he isn't needed.  He should not be depth at his salary, but there is an argument for that as well.

This is it right here...can probably get late stage free agent guards who are younger and hungrier and/or mid+late round draft picks that will be the same and then cut Tomlinson after June 1st. If you don't acquire those types of guys in free agency or draft then you make sure you upgrade everything around Tomlinson and let it play out.

[Maynard13]

1 minute ago, Adoni Beast said:

This is it right here...can probably get late stage free agent guards who are younger and hungrier and/or mid+late round draft picks that will be the same and then cut Tomlinson after June 1st. If you don't acquire those types of guys in free agency or draft then you make sure you upgrade everything around Tomlinson and let it play out.

There is no reason either of those two scenarios should not be realized. There are some good guards/centers to be had in round 3 or F/A’s. This has to be done before June 1st then cut that slob. And who was it that raved about him on before they signed him? Cut him off the staff as well.  Get it done JD….or Rodgers will have your head. 

[Ghost]

On 2/5/2024 at 8:07 AM, JetsFanatic said:

At least Tomlinson stays on the field. He should be our RG, AVT should be LG.

Are you serious? Holy sh*t I hate Jets fans. 

[Doggin94it]

On 2/5/2024 at 5:53 AM, Maynard13 said:

Tomlinson was terrible in 2022. Better in 2023 but still was a liability. Not sure about his contract stipulations but JD needs to either move on or bench this scrub. We desperately need 3 OL to go along with AVT and Tippman. Becton was terrible last year. Can’t see them franchising him. Would cost a fortune and highly risky. JD will have to sign an experienced vet to play left or right tackle. In Round 1 JD has to take another Tackle, either left or right. Or they could trade back and get an extra pick in round 2 and take Tackle in round 1 and a center or guard in round 2. Tippman offers that flexibility to play center or guard which gives us options. This is going to be very interesting. 

Tomlinson will be on the roster at a renegotiated (reduced) salary before FA starts. If he says no, he'll linger on the roster until the Jets see if they can land a replacement in FA, which means that by the time he's cut (with a 6/1 designation) all the good landing spots will be filled and he'll be looking at a much lower dollar value contract than he could negotiate with the Jets. Expect a salary in the 6.5M range with incentives, which is about what he'd get on the open market these days

[extmenace]

I see a pay cut happening. JD has done this before. I also wonder how much tomilson would be if he was sandwiched between better talent. At SF, he was quite good when the talent around him was good. O line, for the most part, are kind of 1 unit made up of 5 OLmen. When you have a weak spot, or in our case several weak spots, it’s going to be hard to perform up to your potential when the guy next to you isn’t good. No excuses, we haven’t gotten the guy we signed up for, but I just wonder if he can be worth the money if he’s got a healthy tippman on one side, and a starting caliber T on the other.

[Jet_Engine1]

According to the chart, Lake Tomlinson is currently at low tide.

[Larz]

He’s so durable and reliable and big , it’s a shame he just doesn’t really get it done like he used to. 

[Beerfish]

He totally stinks and should be gone asap, cheapo street FA like Newman and Schwitzer are better.

Being the Jets he will be back because the GM hates ever admitting he is wrong and made a mistake and the coach values 'leaders' even if they stink as opposed to guys that can play.

His biggest quality  is that he has not gotten hurt, this team can do better via cheap vet Fa or in the draft.

Salehs famous sound bite "We will play  the best 5!"  LOL

[varjet]

56 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

He totally stinks and should be gone asap, cheapo street FA like Newman and Schwitzer are better.

Being the Jets he will be back because the GM hates ever admitting he is wrong and made a mistake and the coach values 'leaders' even if they stink as opposed to guys that can play.

His biggest quality  is that he has not gotten hurt, this team can do better via cheap vet Fa or in the draft.

Salehs famous sound bite "We will play  the best 5!"  LOL

I share the skepticism but think that JD will be in a panic and will realize that he can't pay these bad contracts when he has to basically recruit free agents to give new bad contracts.  

I just think, as a natural matter, once these NFL players get paid, they turn it off.  When you combine that with a bad QB and a bad coaching staff, players can easily go from Pro Bowl to Toilet Bowl.