As the legal tampering period began on Monday at noon, free agency has gone into full swing.
With that, the Jets haven’t made much of a peep thus far. They missed out on OT Jack Conklin, who would have been a huge upgrade to the offensive line.
Conklin opted to sign a deal with the Cleveland Browns worth up to $30 million in guaranteed money, which the Jets seemed unwilling to match. The deal will become official when NFL free agency officially begins on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
The Jets at no point offered Conklin a contract exceeding the three-year, $42 million deal he received from the Browns, according to The Athletic’s Connor Hughes. In other words, he did not take less money to sign with Cleveland.
That’s not all that surprising considering the Jets have limited to money to spend and Conklin is more effective as a run-blocker than a pass-blocker.
With Conklin off the board, Brandon Scherff and Joe Thuney franchise tagged and Halapoulivaati Vaitai signing a long-term deal with the Detroit Lions, the Jets will have to pivot to the likes of Graham Glasgow, Jason Peters and Greg Van Roten to upgrade their offensive line in free agency.