Five days until the Super Bowl, New York Jets fans are more interested in mid-March when free agency begins. So while the rest of the world tries to pull a Joe Namath and guarantee who will win between two detestable teams on Sunday, perhaps time is better spent gazing into the crystal ball of the Jets offseason and trying to decipher what this team is going to do in order to get back into the playoffs.
The Jets haven’t been in the playoffs since 2010 and haven’t hosted a home playoff game since Jimmy Carter was President. Kidding.
But not far off.
So without further verbiage, a look into Metro’s ‘Jets Offseason Crystal Ball 1.0’:
No Cousins – The prized quarterback on the free agent market is Kirk Cousins, the Washington Redskins veteran who has thrown for over 4,000 yards in each of the last three seasons and has better than a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio during that stretch. Cousins is the sure-fire quarterback on the market but might not be the best fit.
With roughly $85 – $90 million in salary cap space, the Jets are certainly able to throw a lot of money at him but may want to spread the wealth. It’s not like this team doesn’t have other areas where they need depth or to upgrade.
Keeping in mind that the Jets need more than just a quarterback but need some help at offensive line, wide receiver and a couple of starters on a defense that wasn’t too shabby last year, going down the pecking order a bit will surely help the Jets address a lot of areas. Although Cousins makes them playoff contenders, he might not be the best fit.
The crystal ball sees the Jets going after another quarterback and equipping him with a solid supporting cast.
But Foles on the other hand – The crystal ball likes what it sees in Nick Foles, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback who has started a decent number of games during his NFL career and has shown steady growth in taking his team to the Super Bowl.
Foles can be had for much less than Cousins and is entering his prime. He is likely a great fit in the land of the Jets.
The asking price for Foles won’t be as steep as with Cousins. The Jets can add several pieces and get a quality starter in Foles. The crystal ball likes this approach a lot.
No quarterback in the first round – Jets fans are seemingly enthralled with Baker Mayfield, who certainly has been an exciting albeit brash quarterback in college. They also seem to love Lamar Jackson, who is a bit more of a dual-threat quarterback and a former Maxwell Award winner at Louisville.
But picking sixth in the draft and with the crystal ball seeing a quarterback signed in free agency, there is no need for Mayfield or Jackson. Instead, the crystal ball sees the Jets taking an offensive lineman in the first round. Not a flashy pick, but a building block to say the least.
Jets fans won’t like it. But the crystal ball knows the importance of the offensive line. Bow to the crystal ball’s whims.
Bring Him Back – The crystal ball says that the Jets not only have to bring back Demario Davis but will indeed bring him back.
In what was a steal of a trade with the Cleveland Browns, the Jets obtained Davis in exchange for Calvin Pryor, adding a middle linebacker who fits their defense perfectly. Davis should have been playing in the Pro Bowl last week and is a high-character player who is a leader in the Jets locker room.
The crystal ball sees a three-year contract for Davis that puts him in the upper-echelon of middle linebackers. This is an important piece to the Jets rebuild to retain a productive leader in Davis.
