Before Joe Douglas can focus on who he plans to target in free agency come March, he’ll have a handful of in-house decisions to make.

The Jets have 32 players set to hit the open market this offseason. Some don’t figure to factor into New York’s plans for 2020, while it’s safe to assume the Jets would like to keep others around for a while. Either way, Douglas has a lot of work to do in his first offseason on the job.

Neville Hewitt stepped up when the Jets needed him the most last season. With Avery Williamson, C.J. Mosley and Blake Cashman all sidelined due to injury, Hewitt filled a major void in the middle of New York’s defense with a career year. Was his 2019 campaign enough to warrant a return next season? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

Hewitt is coming off a career year in which he recorded 72 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks and eight quarterback hits. Not bad for a player who spent most of his time on special teams and only recorded a combined 40 tackles over the previous two seasons.

As the Jets learned in 2019, it never hurts to have quality depth on the roster. If one of New York’s middle linebacker trio succumbs to injury again next season, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams wouldn’t have to worry about inserting an inexperienced player into the middle of his defense. Hewitt is also only 26 and has plenty of good football ahead of him.

With Hewitt in the mix, the Jets have a veteran linebacker they can rely on. Even if he doesn’t get a lot of playing time on defense, he’s a key special teams player at the very least.

Cons of bringing him back

Mosley and Cashman are all going to be back with clean bills of health in 2020. Williamson is under contract, but his future is less certain. Anyway, Hewitt made only $1 million last season and earned himself a few extra bucks with the way he performed. According to overthecap.com, Hewitt could be worth as much as $3 million on the open market. Is Hewitt worth paying when the Jets can get a backup linebacker like fellow free agent James Burgess at a cheaper price? That question is going to loom large when it comes to Hewitt’s future with the organization.

There’s also Hewitt’s deficiencies in pass coverage. New York could opt to target a reserve linebacker it can slot in on passing downs as opposed to a player who profiles similarly to Mosley and Cashman.

The verdict

Whether or not to keep Hewitt is one of the toughest decisions Douglas has to make this offseason. There are just as many reasons to keep him as there are to let him go. At the end of the day, Douglas will have to decide what he wants out of his inside linebackers.

If he wants a linebacker with a nose for the ball in run support, odds are he’ll make every effort to ensure Hewitt returns in 2020. If he prefers a linebacker who is better in pass coverage, Hewitt will likely be out the door. When taking everything into account, we’re going to predict he’s back in the green and white next season.