Ranking The Top Free Agents

[stormshadow19]

Ahman Green really does little to help us.

He's 30 and has had injury and fumble issues. He would, at best, be a one year stop-gap and we'd still have to burn a high pick on a RB. I would rather go ahead and burn the high pick on Turner.

I'd rather not spend any picks on any RB's. No one will give the Chargers what they want for Turner. They'll want a first round pick. He'll be at a first and third compensation, if he's signed. I'm sure that's what they'll offer him. If that's the case, I'd rather wait and sign him after next season.

The Patriots won Super Bowls with Kevin Faulk. I think Leon Washington and Cedric Houston can fill those shoes. Or, who's to say the Jets can't find their Willie Parker? Or they draft Mike Bush, who can split carries with the other two backs? I just don't think Turner's the answer. Or a sure thing.

[madmike1]

I'm not arguing to take Briggs. Just that Thomas' age will be a factor. And if someone's getting a $12M sign bonus on a 5-year contract and you cut him after 3, then it's roughly a $5M cap hit to cut him. Now that STILL doesn't mean we shouldn't sign him. But you get a handful of these & that's how a team gets in bad cap shape in a hurry, with millions & millions of cap room being allotted to players who are no longer with the team.

Sure there is an element of risk with every signing but i just think that Thomas fits so perfectly into this system that this is a risk the Jets should be jumping to take.

[stormshadow19]

I'm not arguing to take Briggs. Just that Thomas' age will be a factor. And if someone's getting a $12M sign bonus on a 5-year contract and you cut him after 3, then it's roughly a $5M cap hit to cut him. Now that STILL doesn't mean we shouldn't sign him. But you get a handful of these & that's how a team gets in bad cap shape in a hurry, with millions & millions of cap room being allotted to players who are no longer with the team.

I dunno. To me... Briggs seems more like an inside linebacker, than an outside LB. Just from his stats... he has one sack and 113 tackles. Just seems like he'd be better suited for the inside, on a 3/4.

Thomas would be great on the outside...

Hell... I'd sign both, but I'm not the man in charge.

[MiamiJet]

R44,

Nice job, but I thought I'd chime in and offer a correction.

Ricky Manning Jr. is not a free agent or restricted FA. Remember, the Bears signed him away from Carolina for 5 yrs, 21 M in April. Shortly after, he was involved with beating and berating some poor guy at a Denny's.

I also think briggs can play ILB at 6-1 240, but I'd prefer to keep him outside. Keep in mind that Briggs used to play SLB but was moved over to WLB this offseason.

[Barton]

I'd rather not spend any picks on any RB's. No one will give the Chargers what they want for Turner. They'll want a first round pick. He'll be at a first and third compensation, if he's signed. I'm sure that's what they'll offer him. If that's the case, I'd rather wait and sign him after next season.

The Patriots won Super Bowls with Kevin Faulk. I think Leon Washington and Cedric Houston can fill those shoes. Or, who's to say the Jets can't find their Willie Parker? Or they draft Mike Bush, who can split carries with the other two backs? I just don't think Turner's the answer. Or a sure thing.

The ravens won a superbowl with Trent Dilfer. The Pats won a superbowl with Kevin Faulk/Smith. blahblah

How about all the other teams that won superbowls? We dont have the luxury of playing it out with starting Leon Washington because we do not have Tom Brady at Qb, and there's a 2% chance we ever get to the level of the 2000 ravens defense. Not to mention, the pats defense was the real key to their "dynasty".

[MiamiJet]

The ravens won a superbowl with Trent Dilfer. The Pats won a superbowl with Kevin Faulk/Smith. blahblah

How about all the other teams that won superbowls? We dont have the luxury of playing it out with starting Leon Washington because we do not have Tom Brady at Qb, and there's a 2% chance we ever get to the level of the 2000 ravens defense. Not to mention, the pats defense was the real key to their "dynasty".

I think SS has my train of thought. Running backs are very easy to replace, whether it's through free agency or via the draft. This draft is very deep, and players like Michael Bush, Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lych will be available.

I think some of the guys here know I also root for the Bears, and they have a logjam of backs. Thomas Jones will be entering the final year of his contract and could be available, especially with so much money and the #4 draft pick invested in Benson. Adrian Peterson is another backup who has really looked good and has played well, but could be expendable (I doubt it, especially if Jones is traded). This is just one team I'm talking about. I am sure that there are otehrs out there that face similar situations.

All I'm saying is that there are options out there, good options. The season hasn't ended yet and we will have to let things shake out a bit. We might not have to invest a high pick on a back. San Fran was able to land Gore in round 3, and look at what he's done for them.

With a #1, 2 #2's and a boatload of cash (20-30M in cap space), I am sure we'll land someone good.

What worries me more is the gaping hole we have at DT. We definetly need to fill that hole.

[tparich]

Just wondering when was the last time a team traded for a backup RB and had it work out? I'm trying to think now but been driving for 10 hours today so i'm beat.

[MiamiJet]

Just wondering when was the last time a team traded for a backup RB and had it work out? I'm trying to think now but been driving for 10 hours today so i'm beat.

Actually signed as a FA. Sorry.

[uart]

Chad2Coles is correct, Turner is man at RB.....I think compensation for him (unless the Chargers give him a huge tender offer to keep him --which is very possible) is a 6th round pick (maybe 5th?)....

MAYBE I'd give up a 6th rounder, but I'm not convinced that he's the guy we need. I'd rather draft a RB -- I think we can get better talent cheaper...

[Sperm Edwards]

Just wondering when was the last time a team traded for a backup RB and had it work out? I'm trying to think now but been driving for 10 hours today so i'm beat.

New England traded for Dillon, who was then backing up Rudi Johnson I think.

[124]

One quick question and then my view:

Why is KGB all the way down at 10?

I would love to see us try and sign Ahman Green, especially if we believe / do not like / are not able to get Marshawn Lynch (Adrian Peterson is way too far away for us to grab as he will be a Top 3-5 pick). I like Michael Turner but I do not know if I'd be willing to give up a 1st & 3rd round pick for the guy when we could sign Ahman Green to a 2, 3 year deal and draft a back next year to groom behind Green for a year or two. Why not? He played well this season and yes he's 29 but comeon, he's probably 2 or 3 years left in him and he won't be expensive at all because of his age. I say go for it.

As for the rest of the FA class, here's some guys I'd like to see the Jets go after or at least take a look at:

WR:

Drew Bennett

Mike Furrey

Donte Stallworth

Travis Taylor

OL:

Leonard Davis

William Thomas

Eric Steinbach

DL:

Vonnie Holiday

LB:

Tully Banta-Cain

Shaun Phillips

Matt Wilhelm

CB:

Asante Samuel

Nate Clements

Ricky Manning

Kenny Wright

Randall Gay

[madmike1]

WR:

Drew Bennett

Mike Furrey

Donte Stallworth

Travis Taylor

I don't think any of those guys are better then what we have right now...

[R44]

Mad Mike, Briggs and A.Thomas is a very tough one to judge.....I only give Briggs the slightest of an edge, based on a "gut feeling". But both are great, however.

Doing the draft daddy blog, I see many articles I can't use that are football related. Saw somewhere that the 49ers are like $45 below the cap and will chase Briggs and Jared Allen (restricted) with vigor.

Both are from the Bay area, too boot.....Briggs played at Cal-Berekley and is from Sacramento.

Thanks, again, to my friend Miami Jet for pointing out Ricky Manning isn't a free agent.....I double and triple checked the players, but I got bad info on Manning.....Actually I should've know better, as Manning and Maurice Drew were arrested for a fight at a U.C.L.A. Denny's the day after he signed a huge deal last spring

I'll probably have to add Patrick Kerney, a Long Island native, to that list -- looks like he will be on market....he'd rank among the top few DE's....

Also, Bengals just inked young DE Robert Geathers to a long term deal, so strike him the restricted list

P.S: Mike Furrey was once signed by the Jets, from the New York Dragons....He claimed he was burned out playing in the indoor league all spring and wanted some time away right after he signed in the early summer....Hermy balked, so he just quit and signed with the Rams the next season. Bradway, admitted, he really liked Furrey.

****

[The Troll]

One quick question and then my view:

Why is KGB all the way down at 10?

Because KGB is terrible?

He might be the absolute worst DE in the NFL at defending the run, and he hasn't had 10+ sacks since 2004. I'm actually pretty sure he was benched sometime during this season.

[124]

I don't think any of those guys are better then what we have right now...

I'd have to edit my list down to just Furrey & Taylor. I'd love to have one of those two guys as our slot man, what are you kidding? Brad Smith is a young very very VERY raw talent and could serve better staying at the 4 spot for a while.

[drago]

R44 great job as usual

I would look at Bryant Young on the defensive line and Adalius Thomas at linebacker to fill some of our defensive problems

Our biggest hole seems to be RE, which DRob could slide to, but none of those DT are THAT terribly big. We need a Ted Washington, even a Gilbert Brown type. someone that just holds the ground, keeps them off barton, and vilma.

I just don't see it in this pool. Nor would be get that in the draft (at our pick anyway, there aren't too many Nagatas)

[RSJ]

Has anyone mentioned Musa Smith yet? He had a great preseason playing with the starting offense when Jamal Lewis was hurt. He got injured this season - but is young and I think has a lot of potential.

[madmike1]

I'd have to edit my list down to just Furrey & Taylor. I'd love to have one of those two guys as our slot man, what are you kidding? Brad Smith is a young very very VERY raw talent and could serve better staying at the 4 spot for a while.

I think we have A LOT more pressing needs then a slot WR. Even J-Mac was playing better as the season winded down and Brad Smith will be a great 3rd WR in a year or two. I'd much rather spend our money on guards and defensive help on the line, backers and secondary then give some 3rd WR a big contract.

[bitonti]

updated link

http://draftdaddy.com/prospects/freeagent.cfm

[madmike1]

Mad Mike, Briggs and A.Thomas is a very tough one to judge.....I only give Briggs the slightest of an edge, based on a "gut feeling". But both are great, however.

Aside from the very valid points that Sperm made about Thomas' age being a possible concern, I'm gonna have to disagree with you. i think Thomas is a much better and more complete player then Briggs and not by a small margin...

[The Troll]

Aside from the very valid points that Sperm made about Thomas' age being a possible concern, I'm gonna have to disagree with you. i think Thomas is a much better and more complete player then Briggs and not by a small margin...

Apparently, you have not watched much of Lance Briggs.

He is the best player on that defense. Yes, even better than Brian Urlacher's over-rated ass. Just because he does not have sexy sack numbers does not mean he isn't in the same ballpark as Adalius Thomas. His job isn't to rush the passer. Adalius Thomas' is.

[madmike1]

Apparently, you have not watched much of Lance Briggs.

He is the best player on that defense. Yes, even better than Brian Urlacher's over-rated ass. Just because he does not have sexy sack numbers does not mean he isn't in the same ballpark as Adalius Thomas. His job isn't to rush the passer. Adalius Thomas' is.

I would take Urlacher or Mike Brown over Briggs not to mention Tommie Harris. Did you watch the Jets Bears game? Urlacher was ALL OVER the field and Briggs did next to nothing... The Jets need a guy who can rush the passer AND contain the run and thats Thomas. He's proven he can do it before and he'll do it again here. He's the perfect player for this system.

[The Troll]

I would take Urlacher or Mike Brown over Briggs not to mention Tommie Harris. Did you watch the Jets Bears game? Urlacher was ALL OVER the field and Briggs did next to nothing... The Jets need a guy who can rush the passer AND contain the run and thats Thomas. He's proven he can do it before and he'll do it again here. He's the perfect player for this system.

You watched one Bears game, so now you are an authority on Lance Briggs? You kill me, Mike.

BTW, Adalius Thomas is #1 on my wishlist because he is exactly what we need, a pass rusher that has 3-4 experience. Lance Briggs, as far as I know, has no experience in the 3-4, so I would not want to give him a ton of money to do something he has never done.

What irked me was your insinuation that Thomas is leaps and bounds better than Briggs, which is completely untrue. I don't want Briggs either, but to say he is not a great player is assinine.

[madmike1]

You watched one Bears game, so now you are an authority on Lance Briggs? You kill me, Mike.

BTW, Adalius Thomas is #1 on my wishlist because he is exactly what we need, a pass rusher that has 3-4 experience. Lance Briggs, as far as I know, has no experience in the 3-4, so I would not want to give him a ton of money to do something he has never done.

What irked me was your insinuation that Thomas is leaps and bounds better than Briggs, which is completely untrue. I don't want Briggs either, but to say he is not a great player is assinine.

I was just using the jet game as an example. I've seen alot of Briggs over the years and nowhere did i say he's a bad player. I just think that Thomas is one of the best defensive players in the league right now and he's PERFECT for the jets system (which you agree with me on.)

[Sperm Edwards]

WR:

Drew Bennett

Mike Furrey

Donte Stallworth

Travis Taylor

Other than POSSIBLY Taylor, these other 3 are way out of the price range of a slot WR. We don't need another starter & the other three are either #1 or #2 WR's who will command multi-million dollar signing bonuses and probably multi-million dollar salaries to go with it. I'd even say the same about Kevin Curtis. Someone will sign him to pretty big dollars b/c he has the potential to start (sucks for him he's on a team with Holt & Bruce).

That's why I wanted to look at StL's#4 McDonald. Should be pretty good value; we don't need to break the bank on a 3rd receiver but I agree Smith is probably too raw to enter the season with only him and/or a day-two rookie.

[madmike1]

Other than POSSIBLY Taylor, these other 3 are way out of the price range of a slot WR. We don't need another starter & the other three are either #1 or #2 WR's who will command multi-million dollar signing bonuses and probably multi-million dollar salaries to go with it. I'd even say the same about Kevin Curtis. Someone will sign him to pretty big dollars b/c he has the potential to start (sucks for him he's on a team with Holt & Bruce).

That's why I wanted to look at StL's#4 McDonald. Should be pretty good value; we don't need to break the bank on a 3rd receiver but I agree Smith is probably too raw to enter the season with only him and/or a day-two rookie.

Wouldn't you rather just keep J-Mac? You don't think he's better then McDonald?

[Sperm Edwards]

Wouldn't you rather just keep J-Mac? You don't think he's better then McDonald?

No. He despises Mangini like poison. He's served his purpose by now: competition for who starts between him & Cotchery.

Now he's gone & the extra $2-3M/yr in cap space will happily be used to acquire a $5M/yr caliber player instead of a $2-3M/yr caliber player.

The cap relief & team chemistry alone make his release worth it. If we can secure even a day-two pick for him it's gravy.

[madmike1]

No. He despises Mangini like poison. He's served his purpose by now: competition for who starts between him & Cotchery.

Now he's gone & the extra $2-3M/yr in cap space will happily be used to acquire a $5M/yr caliber player instead of a $2-3M/yr caliber player.

The cap relief & team chemistry alone make his release worth it. If we can secure even a day-two pick for him it's gravy.

Hmm I never really thought he was a bad guy who made trouble in the locker room... Obviously he didn't like that he wasn't starting but i don't want any player who is happy with sitting on the bench. He even volunteered to play on specials later in the season and seemed to get more and more playing time as the season carried on. I think you have the wrong impression of him.

[Sperm Edwards]

Hmm I never really thought he was a bad guy who made trouble in the locker room... Obviously he didn't like that he wasn't starting but i don't want any player who is happy with sitting on the bench. He even volunteered to play on specials later in the season and seemed to get more and more playing time as the season carried on. I think you have the wrong impression of him.

Last thing I read was that he said he wanted to go somewhere that he's wanted. And "wanted" is the closest he can come to saying "starting" without being blunt. He does not want to be a #3 for another year & then get released with even lower value. He has some value right now (SOMEONE will give him a contract) but with another 25-reception season his days of making above the league minimum are over. And he knows it.

[madmike1]

Last thing I read was that he said he wanted to go somewhere that he's wanted. And "wanted" is the closest he can come to saying "starting" without being blunt. He does not want to be a #3 for another year & then get released with even lower value. He has some value right now (SOMEONE will give him a contract) but with another 25-reception season his days of making above the league minimum are over. And he knows it.

What team is gonna give him a starting job? He's under contract with the Jets and i think that at 2-3 million he's a pretty cheap 3rd WR on a good team and if Clemens ever becomes the QB he'd probably get better because he's a decent deep threat if he played with the right QB too. I'd say if our WR's aren't broke (and i don't think they are) why should we try to fix them? There are much better things to fix...

[Sperm Edwards]

What team is gonna give him a starting job? He's under contract with the Jets and i think that at 2-3 million he's a pretty cheap 3rd WR on a good team and if Clemens ever becomes the QB he'd probably get better because he's a decent deep threat if he played with the right QB too. I'd say if our WR's aren't broke (and i don't think they are) why should we try to fix them? There are much better things to fix...

My only point was that acquiring a Drew Bennett or Donte Stallworth is unnecessary. Yes, I know they're better than Kevin McDonald or whatever. We don't need someone to come in here & push Coles or Cotchery.

If Mangini decides there's no chemistry issue with keeping McCareins, then who am I to argue?

[drago]

Last thing I read was that he said he wanted to go somewhere that he's wanted. And "wanted" is the closest he can come to saying "starting" without being blunt. He does not want to be a #3 for another year & then get released with even lower value. He has some value right now (SOMEONE will give him a contract) but with another 25-reception season his days of making above the league minimum are over. And he knows it.

i thought the jets best offense was with

j mac

cotch

coles

baker

washington

The seemed the most effective. I'm not saying j-mac brought that unit together. but he was a good part of it. but also, he can be replaced by any number of speed #3's...like furrey.

[TheShowStoppa83]

i would say Stallworth would be a good addition b/c we know he's a proven starter despite his hammy problems just incase coles or cotchery has 2 miss games. i wouldnt mind bennett either.

[The Troll]

In a weak free agent class for receivers, it would not surprise me to see Donte Stallworth get a big contract. He is not going anywhere to be a third receiver.

[NJ]

What team is gonna give him a starting job? He's under contract with the Jets and i think that at 2-3 million he's a pretty cheap 3rd WR on a good team and if Clemens ever becomes the QB he'd probably get better because he's a decent deep threat if he played with the right QB too. I'd say if our WR's aren't broke (and i don't think they are) why should we try to fix them? There are much better things to fix...

Thats the rub right there. If Chad is throwing there is no sense in keeping him around. I'll bet out of Chads 16 picks - 10+ of them were thrown at J-Mac. Although he only recently started fighting for the ball, if he was hit in stride rather than underthrown, some good part of those would have went for 6.