Taking Stock of the Jets Roster
Where do the Jets stand at the start of the off-season?
🗽 Good evening Jets fans. I’ve elected for a later send time today as I was busy watching the Super Bowl first think this morning, a great game that was poorly officiated…that’s all I’ll say, just in case a few people are watching it on delay today for whatever reason.
Although it’s not officially a new league year (that comes in March), today represents an opportunity for all NFL franchises to take stock of the long road ahead, everyone wants to reach that mountaintop of a championship, and there is no one way to get there.
I thought it would be a good idea to take stock of the Jets roster as we head into the 2022 off-season. Who's already contracted for next year, who’s an unrestricted free agent and who’s a restricted free agent. By doing this, it will help clarify where the free agency focus needs to be come next month.
Quarterback
Contracted for 2022: Zach Wilson
RFA: Mike White
UFA: Joe Flacco
# Carried in 2021: 2 (Zach Wilson, Mike White)
🏈 As it stands the Jets have only one quarterback rostered for next year and that’s second year player and guaranteed starter Zach Wilson. How far the Jets go will largely depend on Zach’s development. Will he manoeuvre in the pocket better? Will his short-area accuracy improve? Will he still make those splash plays while protecting the football? Lot of questions for the main man.
The Jets started last season with two quarterbacks on the roster and my expectation is they will do the same again this year. Robert Saleh did say that he’d love to have Joe Flacco back in 2022, and I don’t expect Mike White to go anywhere, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Jets go with two or three quarterbacks in 2022. They took some heat for not having a veteran for the rookie, and there is something to be said for having someone like Flacco in the room next year.
Running Backs
Contracted for 2022: Michael Carter, Ty Johnson, La’Mical Perine, Austin Walter
UFA: Nick Bawden (FB), Tevin Coleman (RB)
# Carried in 2021: 4 (Carter, Johnson, Perine & Coleman)
🏈 The Jets got an absolute bargain with Michael Carter in the 4th round, he quickly propelled himself to the top of the depth chart and was only slowed by nagging injuries. The expectation is that Carter will head the backfield again in 2022, but the constructions of the RB room outside of Carter is up for debate.
Johnson and Walter proved themselves useful at points in 2021, but neither are guaranteed a spot on the 2022 roster and it looks as though Perine’s days are numbered. There may be some interest in bringing back Coleman but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few new faces rounding out the rotation.
Wide Receivers
Contracted for 2022: Corey Davis, Denzel Mims, Elijah Moore
UFA: Braxton Berrios, Keelan Cole, Jamison Crowder
ERFA: Jeff Smith
# Carried in 2021: 7 (Davis, Mims, Moore, Berrios, Cole, Crowder, Smith)
🏈 I’m not sure any position group is going to come under more scrutiny than the wide receiver one. The Jets only have three players contracted for 2022 and one of those guys spent more time on the side-line and in the doghouse (Mims) than on the field. Corey Davis and Elijah Moore missed considerable time through injury and the Jets most reliable receiver (Berrios) is now a free agent.
Key questions will revolve around whether the Jets resign Berrios, but they could elect to bring back Keelan Cole as well. If the Jets don’t sign Berrios, they may bring back Crowder on another one year deal. There’s little question that this unit needs some more star power, whether that comes through free agency (Williams, Gallup, Godwin, Robinson) or through the draft (Wilson, Williams, Burks, London, Dotson).
Tight End
Contracted for 2022: Ryan Griffin, Trevon Wesco (FB), Kenny Yeboah
UFA: Tyler Kroft
# Carried in 2021: 2 (Kroft, Wesco)
🏈 The Jets final 53 before the season only contained one true TE in Kroft, Wesco is often used out of the backfield for the Jets. Through injuries we saw a number of players at the position and there’s a good chance the Jets decide to cut Griffin to free up some cap space ($3 million). The issue with the Jets TE room in 2021 was that they didn’t catch that many passes and they didn’t block very well.
Kenny Yeboah came on towards the end of the season, but I don’t think the Jets trust his blocking at the pro-level just yet. The Jets should make it a priority to upgrade this position room. The free agency pool is absolutely loaded with Dalton Schultz being the top-tier option if he wriggles free from Dallas, and the draft is as deep as it’s been in years.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see 2-3 new starters with Yeboah the only carry over on the practice squad. A reliable TE is a young QBs best friend, the Jets must improve this position group with investment.
Offensive Line
Contracted for 2022: Mekhi Becton, Chuma Edoga, George Fant, Parker Ferguson, Connor McGovern, Greg Van Roten, Alijah Vera-Tucker
UFA: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Dan Feeney, Conor McDermott, Morgan Moses, Greg Senat
# Carried in 2021: 9 (Becton, AVT, McGovern, GVR, Moses, Fant, Feeney, Edoga, McDermott)
🏈 The offensive line started poorly, but they did improve with the addition of LDT. Although GVR is contracted for next season, the expectation is he will be cut to free up cap space ($3.5 million). Who starts at left tackle will be a big question through camp with Becton coming back from injury and George Fant having performed at an elite level.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see LDT come back to compete for that RG spot with a draft pick, or the Jets may elect to splash some money on the line in free agency. Joe Douglas has always said you build through the trenches so it’ll be interesting to see how happy he is with the unit as it stands.
Ferguson is largely a practise squad player at this point so the Jets have 5 players at the moment who are likely to return (GVR not included), so if they carry 9 again they’ll be looking for four additions.
Defensive Line
Contracted for 2022: John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff, Carl Lawson, Jonathan Marshall, Sheldon Rankins, Quinnen Williams, Jabari Zuniga.
RFA: Kyle Phillips
ERFA: Tim Ward
UFA: S. Lawson, Shepherd, Fatukasi, Vinny Curry
# Carried in 2021: 9 (JFM, Rankins, Williams, Huff, Lawson, Zuniga, Shepherd, Fatukasi, Marshall)
🏈 The defensive line was arguably the most disappointing position group for the Jets in 2021 based on the expectation coming in. JFM cooled down after signing a new contract, Quinnen was still Quinnen and played far better than people give him credit for but the rest of the unit was largely disappointing. The Jets have a lot of decisions to make here.
Will Joe Douglas prioritise Fatukasi? The run-stuffing defensive tackle chose the wrong time to have his worst year stuffing the run. Should JFM be moved back inside to defensive tackle where he’s arguably more effective? What does 2021 prized acquisition Carl Lawson look like after a year out? Do the jets cut Sheldon Rankins to create cap space? ($5.4 million saved if cut)
Will the Jets target a proven veteran or will they roll the dice by adding a rookie to the line. One thing is for sure in this Robert Saleh system, you can never have too many defensive ends. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them add through free agency and the draft.
Linebackers
Contracted for 2022 season: CJ Mosley, Blake Cashman, Hamsah Nasrildeen, Del’Shawn Phillips, Jamien Sherwood, Javin White, Quincy Williams.
UFA: Jarrad Davis
# Carried in 2021: 5 (Davis, Mosley, Sherwood, Cashman, Nasrildeen)
🏈 Rumour has it that the Jets are very high on the Quincy Williams and CJ Mosley partnership and as the Jets are often in their sub-packages, having only two linebackers on the field at one time is a common sight.
Blake Cashman should be cut to free up some cap space, the Jets have spent more than enough time rehabilitating his injuries which leaves CJ, Quincy, Hamsah and Sherwood as four players expected to make the team in 2022.
Sherwood is coming off a big injury and Hamsah was relegated to special teams towards the back end of the season, so the Jets should absolutely look to infuse this position group with some speed and some coverage ability. That may come in free agency with someone like Oluokun or in the draft with a 2nd or 3rd day guy like Muma.
The only proven commodity in this group is CJ, not making an effort to upgrade this position group would be a big mistake.
Defensive Backs
Contracted for 2022: Michael Carter II, Ashtyn Davis, Isaiah Dunn, Brandin Echols, Bryce Hall, Justin Hardee, Zane Lewis, Kai Nacua, Jason Pinnock, Rachad Wildgoose
UFA: Marcus Maye, LaMarcus Joyner, Will Parks
ERFA: Elijah Riley, Javelin Guidry
# Carried in 2021: 11 (Austin, Hall, Guidry, Carter, Echols, Pinnock, Dunn, Maye, Joyner, Davis, Hardee)
🏈 This is one of the more interesting groups to watch this off-season. The system Saleh runs rarely calls for a “shutdown corner” if that player does exist in the modern NFL, but many still believe the Jets will add a corner with one of their first round picks in the draft come April.
While making the final 53 initially, Austin was released at the start of September. Joyner got injured in week one and missed the entire season and Maye played sporadically. To make this system work you need to have a good pass-rush and you need to have consistently good safety play, the Jets got neither and key free agents brought in were injured early (Lawson & Joyner).
I would say the Jets have more work to do at the safety position than they do the cornerback position. Maye could return on a one year prove-it deal and I wouldn’t be against the Jets bringing Joyner back for depth either, but we need to infuse talent there whether that’s through a Jessie Bates or Marcus Williams signing in free agency or a draft selection.
I think the Jets will add to the cornerback room, I’m just not sold it’s going to be at the top of the first-round in the draft.
Special Teams
Contracted for 2022: Braden Mann (P), Thomas Hennessy (LS)
UFA: Eddy Pineiro (K)
# Carried in 2021: 3 (Matt Ammendola (K), Braden Mann (P), Thomas Hennessy (LS))
🏈 There isn’t much to say here. Thomas Hennessy is as consistent as he always is but Braden Mann was a little disappointing in the end. Thomas Morstead came in when Mann got injured and he did a fine job, the only reason he lost his job when Mann returned was due to age.
Eddy Pineiro came in and did a fine job hitting 100% of his field goals with a long of 51. There was something I didn’t quite trust with Eddy though but I’d be fine if they brought him back, but I do think picking up a kicker for a competition makes a lot of sense as well.
Conclusion
🏈 As it stands the Jets have 44 players under contract for next season. After some tactical cuts that will likely be under 40. Not all of those players will be expected to make the final 53 (Ferguson, Walter, Zuniga, White, Lewis, Nacua, Wildgoose), so when all is said and done the Jets likely have around 30 players signed who you’re confident of making the final roster, more like 35 if you count in the ERFA’s and RFA’s who are expected back.
For the sake of this piece I haven’t included the players we’ve signed to future/reserve contracts (below).1
For arguments sake lets say that leaves around 15-20 spots to fill, some starting and some depth. The Jets had 9 rookies make the final 53 for 2021 and they’ll likely have a similar number this year considering how many picks they have inside the top 100, which leaves around 5-10 free agent spaces to fill the roster.
This is the current state of the New York Jets roster, now we turn our attention to how we can improve it.
Rodney Adnams (WR). Matt Ammendola (K). Bradlee Anae (DE). Tarik Black (WR). Lawrence Cager (WR/TE). Brandon Dillon (TE). Grant Hermanns (OT). Jovante Moffat (SS). D.J Montgomery (WR). Ross Piersbacker (OG). Hamilcar Rashed Jr (DE). Dru Samia (OG). Tanzel Smart (DT). Isaiah Williams (OG).
Tolbert’s crew has a reputation of involving themselves in the game too much, I thought they mostly avoided that until, well as you said I don’t want to spoil it.