Playing for your future

Edition #397

Good morning! ☕

If you’ve not seen the second episode of the Jets docu-series Flight 23: Ascension then make sure you give that a watch today. There is some outstanding content on the draft class in general, but probably the most enjoyable aspect is Joe Douglas using his crystal ball to call the Pittsburgh trade with New England. Not only that but the clips seemed to indicate that Will McDonald was the first choice there anyway and Broderick Jones may not have even been the second choice, with Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer getting a mention.

“Broderick Jones is gonna go at 14. I bet somebody is going to trade up in front of us for Broderick Jones with New England. Pittsburgh.” - Joe Douglas before the pick.

This is why I don’t buy into some of these draft narratives that do the rounds. Everyone wanted to say that evil genius Bill Belichick got one over on the Jets, but it turns out he got one over himself by taking a below-value trade to move down.

☠️ Former Jets coach Todd Bowles will be returning to Florham Park this summer to hold joint practices between his Tampa Bay Bucs and the New York Jets before the two face off in a pre-season game on the 19th of August at MetLife.

🗓️ Talking of the pre-season, the Jet’s schedule is confirmed. They’ll kick off on the 4th of August in the Hall of Fame game at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Before traveling to Carolina to take on the Panthers on August 12th, arriving back home to face the Bucs on the 19th and the Giants on the 26th.

🔴⚪ Isaac Wilson, Zach’s little brother committed to play football at the University of Utah yesterday, signing on with BYU’s biggest rival, taking sibling rivalry to the highest level. Got to respect the man for making that call and trying to carve out his own legacy, it would have been easy to follow his brother to BYU.

🚨 Brandin Echols has been suspended for the first game of the 2023 season after he was involved in a high-speed car crash in Florham Park which resulted in a man being partially paralyzed. Echols has been accepted onto a 36-month diversionary program, will have his license suspended for 6 months, and will need to pay the injured driver $54,460 in restitution. Florham Park police issued him a summons for reckless driving, speeding, unsafe lane change, improper passing, and failure to wear a seatbelt. Echols’ attorney Mitch Schuster issued this statement on his client’s behalf: “Mr. Echols is not alleged to have been driving under the influence of any substances and there are no claims that Mr. Echols intended to hurt anyone. Mr. Echols is deeply saddened that [crash victim] Mr. [Stephen] Gilberg suffered injuries as a result of the accident and wishes Mr. Gilberg a full and speedy recovery.”

🟤🟠 Elijah Moore spoke to the media yesterday: "I can't do anything but feel blessed to be in the opportunity that I'm in right this moment," Moore told reporters Wednesday, via Browns transcript. "It feels good to be wanted, and it's going to make any player, any human, go harder. When you feel like that and you feel like you're around people who want you to be here, so I'm going to give it all I got every single day.” - I have no ill feelings towards Moore, it just didn’t work out here. I wish him all the best and am glad he feels he’s in a better situation to allow him to grow and develop.

🤕 With the Jets signing WR Jerome Kapp yesterday, DL Bradlee Anae was placed on IR in a corresponding move. The nature of the injury wasn’t revealed, but this doesn’t bode well for Anae considering the depth the Jets have on the defensive line. Missing any time will put him behind the 8-ball.

33 contracts are set to expire at the end of this season. If it sounds like a lot, that’s because it is a lot.

A lot of those contracts may not even make it that far, with no guarantees on a roster spot and no guarantees in the contract, the grim reaper of cut-down day will come calling before the calendar turns to the new year.

However, there are a number of players who will be playing for their next contract, whether that’s in New York or elsewhere. There’s something about playing for a new contract that seems to add an edge to someone’s game. How many times have we seen a player have a career year in the final year of his deal? Not just in football, but in every sport across the globe.

So while players like Nasrildeen, Senet, Pankey, Spencer, and Craig James will likely find themselves unemployed before September ends, there are a number of Jets playing for their futures, and a number of them will be given the opportunities on the field to make a statement, here are the top 5.