Good morning!
I have to apologise today as I didn’t have time to get a full edition out. After being out at the baseball all day on Sunday and then having Daddy Day Care with both kids yesterday as my wife attended an important board meeting, then working the Japan market this morning (Hawks v Swallows baseball), I just couldn’t put together a long piece as usual. But I still wanted to get a quick newsletter out to cover a few topics.
As we have a short one today, you can expect a very long one tomorrow. So get a good nights sleep and make sure you have plenty of coffee in, and that’s just for the comment section essays 😂
Everyone expected that Haason Reddick would show for mandatory minicamp, but according to multiple reports yesterday he was the only player who failed to attend. When you combine that with his absence from OTA’s and his apparent radio silence with his coaches, you start to worry that this is a storyline that could drag. We know he wants a contract, we wrote about that last week. But when you head to a new team, it’s probably a good idea to ingratiate yourself to the powers that be just a little bit. Show up, put in the work, and show why you deserve that contract extension. We’ll see if he shows up at all this week, but my worry meter has just gone up a little. Yesterday it was basically a photoshoot, today is the main day for being on the field…so let’s see what happens.
The Jets are going to be working out All-Pro and Pro-Bowl return man Jakeem Grant this week. When he was at his best he was absolutely electric and one of the most dynamic returners in the game. Unfortunately he had a big Achillies injury in 2022 and a bad knee injury in 2023, so he really hasn’t played in two years. If he’s healthy and he can perform at his best, then this could be an absolutely steal, but that’s a big IF.
Marcus Maye is signing with the Dolphins. I was a big fan of Maye when he was here but his time in New Orleans was pretty forgettable and the Dolphins are getting a far inferior product than the one we enjoyed.
New Jets Wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson has been talking about Garrett Wilson - "Just watching him on television and everything like that, he's as advertised," Jefferson said. "This kid can be exactly or whatever he wants to be. He has that, if you talk about that it, he has it, he has it. "When you're that guy, understanding what the defense is going to try to do against you and the things that they're going to do to try to stop you, and the little nuances of, OK, when we see this, you do that," Jefferson said. "I mean really the sky's the limit for this kid. He has that it factor, he has that dawg. And the thing that's really impressive is he works, he works, he works. I think I'm going to have to probably save him from himself, because he works like crazy."
Jefferson also had some praise for Allen Lazard and a huge part of his job will be getting the best out of Lazard with his contract making it very difficult to cut him: "Since I’ve been here, he’s been like a second coach in the room. He’s been with [quarterback Aaron Rodgers] his whole career. He understands what Aaron wants on this route, where to be against cover 2 or against quarters. That can be a big-time advantage for him and also for us as a whole sharing that in the classroom."
What’s fair ? 28 million per, possibly. Big gap. Jets would like to have Reddick for their two year window. But the Jets, are restricted by their CAP, they have others to pay. Could be time , for the Jets to play hard ball ? I think so. Shawn Jefferson trying to change the Narrative on Lazard. Allen showed up to OTA’s and is working, it’s a positive. Let’s see if Jefferson can work his magic and help Lazard become a marginal WR.
The Riddick trade mystified me from the get go. We let a 10 sack 26 year old DE walk in free agency and he signs for $22m. So we then spend a 3rd round pick for a 30 year old 20 sack DE that’s looking for $25+ m? And now we have a hold out? Hmmmm.