Category: Jets

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year goes to Jets’ Garrett Wilson

The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is the Jets’ Garrett Wilson

Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets caught the honor of AP Offensive Rookie of the Year at NFL Honors on Thursday in Arizona.

The Ohio State star defeated Brock Purdy of the 49ers and Kenneth Walker of the Seahawks.

Wilson played in all 17 games and made 83 catches on 147 targets. His receptions went for 1,103 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He was the 10th pick in the first round.

Effective salary cap space for all 32 NFL teams in the 2023 league year

How much is your favorite team over or under the 2023 salary cap of $224.8 million?

When the NFL announces the salary cap for the upcoming league year, which it did on Monday, some teams are very excited by the prospect of that number.

For other teams, the accounting/reckoning is soon coming due.

As Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported, the 2023 salary cap will be $224.8 million, an all-time high, and quite a bump from 2022’s $208.2 million. You would think that this would have every NFL team in high cotton from a player payroll perspective, but as our friends at OverTheCap.com point out, there are just 15 teams — just under half the league — under that number in Effective Salary Cap Space (the cap number against the actual payroll, plus what it will take to sign at least 51 players and the rookie class) as we stand today.

Of course, all kinds of things are coming for the team in need of offsets. Players will be released, contracts will be restructured, and cans will be kicked down the road so that all teams can be in compliance with the cap when the new league year begins.

So, there’s a lot that’s going to happen, but as it stands now, here’s how all 32 NFL teams stand on either side of 2023’s $224.8 million salary cap, from the most under the cap to the most over. Teams over the cap have their totals represented in parentheses as negatives.

(All salary cap numbers courtesy of OverTheCap.com).

NFL announces 2023 regular-season opponents for all teams

The NFL has announced 2023 regular-season opponents for all teams. Here’s a breakdown for each of the league’s 32 teams.

On Monday, the NFL announced opponents for all 32 teams in the 2023 schedule. Per the league, the formula for the schedule is as follows:

  • Home and away against its three division opponents (six games).
  • The four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating, three-year cycle (four games).
  • The four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating, four-year cycle (four games).
  • Two intraconference games based on the prior year’s standings (two games). These games match a first-place team against the first-place teams in the two same-conference divisions the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place and fourth-place teams in a conference are matched in the same way each year.

One interconference game based on the prior year’s standings on a rotating four-year cycle (one game). These games match a first-place team from one division against a first-place team in an opposite-conference division that the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place and fourth-place teams in each division are matched in the same way each year. The home conference for this game will rotate each season, with the AFC teams hosting the game in 2023.

The scheduling formula implemented in 2002 with realignment guarantees that all teams play each other on a regular, rotating basis.

The 2023 schedule, with playing dates and times, will be announced in the spring.

NFL postseason scenarios: Every possible permutation for Week 18

There’s a lot on the line as the NFL’s regular season comes to a close. Here is every possible playoff permutation for Week 18.

The final week of any NFL regular season leaves us with all kinds of postseason possibilities to be decided, and never more so than in the 2022 regular season. Due to the cancellation of last Monday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals because of Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field, the NFL had to create multiple stipulations in order to try and maintain competitive balance in a league that had two teams with one fewer game in the books.

We’ll get into all that in the scenarios below. Suffice to say, there are a bunch of teams with everything on the line in Week 18. Week 18 started Saturday, with the Kansas City Chiefs clinching the AFC’s one-seed, and the Jacksonville Jaguars clinching the AFC South, and the AFC’s four-seed.

Things are less complicated in the NFC. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have clinched the four-seed, and they’ll do so even if they go into the playoffs with a losing record. The New York Giants have already clinched the six-seed no matter what happens in their game with the Philadelphia Eagles… but as you’ll see, the Eagles can move anywhere from the one-seed to the five-seed based on what they, and several other NFC teams, do on Sunday. By the time we get to who can win the NFC’s two-seed, your head may be ready to explode.

In order to provide as much clarity as possible, here is every possible playoff scenario in both conferences for all non-eliminated teams.

4-Down Territory: Dak’s interceptions, C.J. Stroud, QB evaluation, playoff newcomers

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling discuss Dak’s problems, C.J. Stroud, QB evaluation, and playoff newcomers.

Every week in “4-Down Territory,” Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling of Bucs Wire and Draft Wire go over the things you need to know about, and the things you need to watch, in the NFL right now. With one week left in the regular season, there was a lot to cover.

(Note: We taped this show before Damar Hamlin’s Monday night injury. Please visit Touchdown Wire for our continued coverage).

This week, Doug and Luke discuss:

00:00 – Can Dak Prescott fix the turnover issues before the playoffs for the Cowboys?

05:02 – Did you see a different C.J. Stroud against college football’s best defense?

09:38 – What does this teach us about getting it right with the game’s most important position?

17:09 – Which eliminated team has the best chance of making the playoffs next season?

You can watch this week’s episode of “4-Down Territory” right here.

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Seahawks QB Geno Smith completes season sweep of all his former teams

With wins over the Jets, Giants, and Chargers, Geno Smith swept every team that had him on their roster before the Seahawks did.

Sunday was one of the most remarkable days in the remarkable redemptive take of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Seattle beat the New York Jets, 23-6, to keep their postseason hopes alive. Smith completed 18 of 29 passes for 183 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 103.1. That put him over 4,000 passing yards for the season, which added a $1 million bonus to his $1.26 million base salary.

Moreover, in beating the Jets, Smith has now completed a season sweep of every NFL team he was with before signing with the Seahawks in May, 2019. The Jets selected Smith the 39th overall pick in the second round of the 2013 draft out of West Virginia, and Smith’s tenure with that team was ill-fated and injury-filled. He signed with the New York Giants in 2017, playing mostly a backup role. He then signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018, and barely played at all.

Well, the Seahawks beat the Chargers, 37-23, in Week 7. They beat the Giants in Week 8, 2013. And now, Smith has the career sweep.

Not that he admitted to noticing such things.

“I didn’t,” Smith said Thursday, when asked if he’d looked at the schedule this year and noticed that each of his ex-teams were there. “I honestly don’t look past the first game, I just go week to week. It’s kind of cool to be able to do that, see some old faces, and then go out there, compete, and try to win against them. I didn’t get a chance to see the full schedule, but it’s cool with the way it was set up.”

Cool, indeed. Smith gets one more chance in the regular season to continue his amazing season story when the Seahawks welcome the Los Angeles Rams to Lumen Field. The next thing he should be seeing is a rather large next contract that very few expected when the season began.

Jets continue NFL’s longest playoff drought, but they’re only a quarterback away

Bad news: The New York Jets will miss the playoffs for the 12th straight season. Good news: They’re only a quarterback away.

The last time the New York Jets made the playoffs, it was the 2010 season. Rex Ryan was the head coach, Mark Sanchez was the quarterback, LaDainian Tomlinson was the primary running back, Darrelle Revis was in his fourth season, and Jim Leonhard was patrolling the secondary along with Revis. Now, Ryan and Sanchez are television analysts, Revis is coming up on his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility, Tomlinson is in the Hall of Fame, and Leonhard is the Wisconsin Badgers’ interim head coach after a highly successful stint as the team’s defensive coordinator.

What we’re saying is that it’s been a long time since the New York Jets rocked and roiled in the postseason.

Sadly for Jets fans, that unfortunate trend will continue in the 2022 season. When the Jets lost 23-6 to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, that officially ended their chances for the postseason.

The good news for the now 7-9 Jets is that they have just about everything figured out. General manager Joe Douglas did a great job in free agency and the draft, head coach Robert Saleh is the right guy for that job, and there’s serious talent just about everywhere.

The bad news for the now 7-9 Jets is their deficit of talent at the game’s most important position. Quarterback has been a major problem for the team through most of the season. Zach Wilson has firmly proven that he’s not the guy, and his selection with the second pick of the 2021 draft will go down as Douglas’ biggest mistake. Mike White has been a serviceable bridge starter, though he is in no way the future at the position. Whether it’s in the draft or in free agency, the Jets will have to figure that out.

So, back to the good news. The Jets are estimated to have just over $15 million in salary cap space when the new league year kicks over in March, and there are moves Douglas and his staff can make to expand that. Perhaps it’s a free agent signing. Perhaps it’s a mega-trade for a star like Aaron Rodgers. Or, maybe the Jets find their future quarterback in the draft. Right now, they have the 13th overall pick, which is a decent place to be.

Perhaps the Jets should take a look at one of their AFC East foes, and how they figured out an interminable postseason drought. The Buffalo Bills failed to make the postseason every year from 2000 through 2016. They made it in 2017 with Tyrod Taylor as their bridge guy, selected Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft, and haven’t missed the postseason since 2019.

All the Jets need is the right quarterback. Or, a functional quarterback. Any quarterback who won’t turn into a pumpkin at the worst possible time. If they can get that rolling, the future looks very bright.

Mike White returns as Jets starting quarterback

The Jets’ QB carousel lands on Mike White for Week 17

Mike White was cleared by team doctors and that clears the way for Zach Wilson to return to the sidelines for the New York Jets in Week 17.

White has gone 1-2 in three starts for Gang Green in 2022. Despite the below .500 mark, White inspires the team, which is something Wilson has failed at miserably.

Wilson is actually 5-4 as a starter this season but has faltered when it comes to leadership and accepting responsibility for his foibles.

Despite being the second overall pick in 2022, it would not be surprising if the Jets look to part ways with Wilson in the offseason.

White will actually face a former Jets starting quarterback in Week 17 as they play Geno Smith and the Seahawks in Seattle.

New York Jets receivers coach Miles Austin suspended for violating NFL gambling policy

Jets assistant coach Miles Austin has been suspended by the NFL for gambling

The news for the New York Jets continues to be bad.

A day after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a key game, the Jets learned wide receivers coach Miles Austin is being suspended for at least a year for violating the NFL gambling policy.

The league said Austin is appealing the ban:

“The league will have no further comment until that appeal has been resolved,” the NFL’s statement said.

Austin, 38, is in his second season with the Jets. He played in college at Monmouth and spent 10 years in the NFL with the Cowboys, Browns, and Eagles.

He became a coach in 2019 with the 49ers and joined the Jets with head coach Robert Saleh in 2021.

Austin’s attorney said his client did not wager on NFL games.

“The NFL suspended Miles Austin for wagering from a legal mobile account on table games and non-NFL professional sports,” Austin’s attorney, Bill Deni, said in a statement. “Miles did not wager on any NFL game in violation of the Gambling Policy for NFL Personnel. He has been fully cooperative with the NFL’s investigation. He is appealing his suspension.”

The New York Jets have an unsolvable Zach Wilson problem

The Jets would like to think that there’s enough in Zach Wilson to save as a franchise quarterback. But time — and opportunity — is running thin.

When a quarterback loses his confidence for any reason, it’s not good.

When a quarterback who has trouble reading defenses and making basic throws loses his confidence, the results can be catastrophic for a franchise.

The latter condition appears to be what the New York Jets have in Zach Wilson. In the Jets’ 19-3 Thursday night loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Robert Saleh made the call to bench Wilson early in the third quarter after Wilson had completed nine of 18 passes for 92 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 41.9. Backup Chris Streveler came in for Wilson and managed to look competent in comparison, not that it’s a high bar at this point. Nor was it a high bar when the Jets made the call to replace Wilson with backup Mike White in late November after a disastrous loss to the Patriots.

White’s health situation — he suffered rib injuries at the hands of the Buffalo Bills’ merciless pass rush and his own sub-par offensive line in Week 14 — was the only reason Wilson was starting in the first place. Wilson looked a bit less than abjectly awful against the Detroit Lions in a Week 15 loss that was as much about Saleh’s clock management than anything Wilson did wrong, but there is absolutely no margin for error in the Jets’ offense right now, and against the Jaguars, errors were all Wilson seemed to have.

“I just felt like I didn’t have any rhythm out there,” Wilson said after the loss to the Jaguars, the Jets’ fifth defeat in their last six games — they were 6-3 before their bye. “I was just trying to find some confidence out there on the field, find something to get us going, a little spark.

“We had opportunities. I have to be able to connect on those. We’re going to go back and watch it, the coaches will detail it up for us. And I just have to put my head down and try to get better. My message to the team out there was I’ve got to put them in a better position.”

Well, at least he’s taking responsibility for his role in the debacle. And the Jaguars gave Wilson all he could handle. They dropped into coverage more than they blitzed, knowing that they could beat Gang Green’s injury-depleted offensive line. They threw different coverages at Wilson from play to play, they disguised their coverage intentions extremely well, and they plastered Wilson’s receivers across the middle.

More credible quarterbacks may have struggled, never mind a guy in his second NFL season who’s still struggling with basic reads.

Zach Wilson’s inability to read coverages could be his final, fatal flaw

As for Saleh, he knows he’s got a quarterback with a crisis of confidence.

“We got time, but confidence is a big deal. It’s confidence for coaching, confidence for players, confidence in your own individual self,” Saleh said Friday morning. “I do know that he works his tail off and I’m with you. It’s a tough thing to try to overcome, but it doesn’t take much to flip confidence. He just needs to get on a little run, just a couple things happen, go his way and felt like that was happening in the first half of the Detroit game where he had a really nice first half. There was a lot of confidence, finished the half strong with a two-minute drive with a goal ball and a back shoulder or a scout on the two-man.

“We’ve got to help him. We’re not going to quit on him. We’ve got to do our best and that’s for every player in our locker room. As long as they’re wearing a Jets logo, we’re going to pour our hearts and souls into them and do everything we can to help them.”

It’s a nice thought, but as the Jets are now 7-8 and the 10th seed in the AFC, with no postseason guarantees, you wouldn’t blame Saleh for looking as intently as possible at Mike White’s timeline.

There doesn’t seem to be any clarity there, either.

“I don’t have any of those details,” Saleh said Friday. “We’ve got time. We got today, the weekend, Monday and Tuesday. So, we’re just going to let that play out. I don’t know any times or anything like that.”

The Jets do have a bit of time — they don’t play again until they travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks on January 1. Perhaps a new year will shine a brighter spotlight on a quarterback situation that has thrown this team into the tank.

Or, and especially if the need is to rely on Wilson again, it may be more of the same old, same old. Questions regarding Wilson’s future with the team — those questions that may have already been answered internally — will have to wait until the offseason. Which could start a lot earlier than anybody in the organization would have hoped.