Logan Ryan has a price in mind as the fight for his services moves forward.
The veteran free agent defensive back is looking for at least $10 million annually, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It’s the same annual salary he earned over the past three seasons with the Titans. The Jets and Dolphins both have interest in him, but Logan said he’s still “open for business.”
The Jets need another cornerback, but would Douglas be willing to hand out at least a one-year, $10 million deal for the 29-year-old? Douglas has been frugal with the Jets’ money in his first season as the general manager and signed only one player to a contract that exceeded $9.1 million annually (tackle George Fant). He’s also only given out two contracts with more than $10 million in guaranteed money (Fant and center Connor McGovern).
If it’s a matter of cap space, the Jets won’t have enough to sign Ryan and their draft picks until either June 1 – when they’ll earn $11 million in cap relief from cutting Trumaine Johnson – or by cutting one or two players. The Jets have around $13 million in cap space after signing Frank Gore and need around $9.8 million to sign their nine rookies, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. They can save an additional $7.28 million by cutting guard Brian Winters and/or $6.5 million if they cut linebacker Avery Williamson.
There are also cheaper options or perhaps more pressing needs that could take the Jets out of the running for than Ryan. If Douglas is hard-set on getting another veteran cornerback, he could look at Dre Kirkpatrick, Eli Apple or Brandon Carr to round out his secondary. The offensive line could still use some cleaning up and veteran tackle Jason Peters and three-time Pro Bowl guard Larry Warford are still on the open market. Each would individually cost less than Ryan.
This doesn’t bode well for Ryan’s potential future in New York, especially given his age and position. But the price isn’t terribly high for a player of Ryan’s caliber considering other cornerbacks in Ryan’s age range signed for more lucrative deals this offseason. Ryan also had a career year in 2019 for the Titans with 113 combined tackles, 18 pass breakups, 4.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and four interceptions. He’s a great fit for the Jets’ defense and would be a phenomenal addition to a secondary featuring Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye, Pierre Desir, Brian Poole, Bless Austin and rookies Bryce Hall and Ashytn Davis.
Ryan is obviously the best defensive back left in free agency, but he’ll cost the Jets a good amount of their remaining 2020 salary cap if Douglas pulls the trigger. He’ll also need to compete with the Dolphins, who have more money and the appeal of no state income tax in Florida. Ryan would absolutely strengthen the Jets’ overall defense and fit well with Gregg Williams, but he might be too expensive right now.
This will be a matter of Douglas’ desire to pay top dollar for a position of need or let another team swoop in and give Ryan what he wants. It wouldn’t be shocking for either scenario to unfold but would show how far Douglas is willing to go for certain players.