Tag: 2021 New York Jets

4 takeaways from the Jets’ Joe Flacco trade

The Jets paid for an obvious offseason mistake. That and more takeaways from the Joe Flacco trade:

Joe Flacco is back with the Jets after signing with Philadelphia this past offseason.

New York sent a sixth-round pick, which could become a fifth-rounder, to the Eagles after losing Zach Wilson to a PCL sprain. The move was questionable at best after the Jets expressed confidence in backup QB Mike White on Monday. Flacco played for the Jets in 2020 but wasn’t re-signed by the team and is now expected to be the primary backup quarterback and a potential starter in Wilson’s absence.

Below are four takeaways from the trade.

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John Franklin-Myers praises fellow defensive lineman on the roster bubble

John Franklin-Myers had high praise for fellow defensive lineman Tanzel Smart. Smart is fighting for a roster spot this summer.

Tanzel Smart hasn’t made much of an on-field impact with the Jets, but he is influencing at least one teammate behind the scenes. 

“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in my life,” John Franklin-Myers recently said on the “Take Flight Spittin’ Fire Podcast.” “He makes me work harder than I’ve ever worked since I’ve been here.”

Given the surplus of talent on the Jets’ defensive line, it is somewhat surprising to hear Franklin-Myers namedrop Smart, a player who saw just 26 total snaps last season. He recorded three total tackles in as many games.

Smart has been a journeyman since entering the league out of Tulane in 2017. He spent three seasons with the Rams before bouncing around to the Bills, Browns and Jets. He’s played in 509 total defesive snaps in his career, and 306 of those came in his rookie year.

While Smart is motivating Franklin-Myers, the former is no threat to the latter’s job. Franklin-Myers is a potential starter following a career year that included 19 total tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, 13 quarterback hits, two pass breakups, and two fumble recoveries in 15 games.

Smart, meanwhile, will need to go above and beyond this summer if he hopes to crack New York’s deep defensive line rotation.

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WATCH: Jets WR Elijah Moore had no idea what a VHS tape was

Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore was shown an image of a VHS tape and had no idea what it was.

VHS tapes have long been outdated as everything in the world becomes digitized, but most people still recognize one when they see one. Elijah Moore is not one of those people, though.

Moore took part in a video series by the Jets called “Meet the Fleet,” and was shown an image of a VHS tape. He knew it was a tape of some sort but was stumped when it came to what kind of tape it was.

Moore, just 21 years old, had to have used a VHS tape before. DVDs didn’t come to the United States until 1997, so there’s a good chance Moore’s family had a VCR and put VHS tapes in it to watch videos when he was a kid.

Nowadays, not many people use VHS tapes or even DVDs because recording technologies have become more digitized over the years. It’s still funny to see that Moore had no idea what a VHS tape looked like, though.

Despite failing that test, Moore has a big year ahead of him. The Jets drafted Moore 34th overall in the 2021 NFL draft and they have high expectations for him.

Moore was a star at Ole Miss, catching 189 passes for 2,441 yards and 16 touchdowns. Moore’s junior season stood out more than the rest, as he recorded 86 catches for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns in just eight total games.

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Jets S Marcus Maye among 6 franchise-tagged players who didn’t sign extensions

After not agreeing on a contract extension with the Jets, Marcus Maye is one of six who will play on the franchise tag in 2021.

Marcus Maye and the Jets could not agree on a contract extension before the July 15 franchise tag deadline.

As a result, Maye will play on a one-year, $10.612 million franchise tag tender in 2021. The Jets now have to wait until next offseason to negotiate with Maye and his representatives again. New York can place the franchise tag on Maye for a second consecutive year but at a steeper price. The other options the Jets have are to trade him, come to terms on a new contract in free agency, or let him walk in free agency.

Five other franchise-tagged players were unable to agree on long-term deals before Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline. Here’s a look at the rest of the players joining Maye, as well as what they’ll make on the tag.

Alijah Vera-Tucker impressing Jets OL coach early on

John Benton has yet to see Alijah Vera-Tucker in pads, but the Jets rookie has been able to “check every box” so far.

A crucial summer evaluation period awaits, but John Benton likes what he’s seen from Alijah Vera-Tucker so far.

Vera-Tucker, the 14th overall pick in the 2021 draft, impressed Benton, the Jets offensive line coach, during his first NFL OTAs and minicamp. Vera-Tucker did everything that he has supposed to, leaving Benton eager to see more in training camp and the preseason.

“Very positive, we don’t have pads on yet, so there’s a lot of boxes to be checked,” Benton said, via the Jets’ website. “But right now, he’s been able to check every box. He’s willing to learn the scheme. Impressive athletically, and he seems to fit right in with the guys. He’ll definitely be in the running, provided he passes the physical tests when we put the pads on. But all indications are good.”

If Vera-Tucker continues on this path, he’ll likely be the Jets’ starting left guard in Week 1 against the Panthers. He is competing with Alex Lewis, who was the Jets’ starting left guard last season, but Vera-Tucker is clearly the preferred choice after Joe Douglas traded up in the draft to get him.

The Jets traded the No. 23 overall pick and two third-round picks to draft Vera-Tucker 14th overall.

Vera-Tucker’s excellence in pass protection at USC was a big reason why they did that. He only allowed five sacks in his entire college career while recording a 91.6 pass-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

We’ll see if Vera-Tucker can translate his college success over to the NFL, but he has performed well in his short Jets tenure thus far.

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Packers will host Jets for joint practices in August

The Jets will conduct join practices with the Packers a couple of days before the two teams play against each other in the preseason.

Joint practices are making their return after taking a year off, and the Jets are taking advantage.

New York and the Green Bay Packers will conduct joint practices with each other on Aug. 18 and 19 ahead of their preseason game, according to the New York Post’s Brian Costello.

The practices will be held in Green Bay, where the game will take place at 4:25 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 21. New York has not held a joint practice with any team since 2018 when it visited Washington in Richmond, Virginia.

The Jets coaching staff has a handful of connections with the Packers staff. Most notably, Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is the younger brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. In addition, Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Matt LaFleur worked together on the Central Michigan coaching staff in 2004. Saleh was a defensive assistant, while LaFleur was a graduate assistant. The two became close during their time there.

The joint session will be a good test for a young Jets team to get some more game-like reps against one of the NFL’s top teams. The NFL preseason was shortened from four games to three this year, so it’s one fewer game for younger players to prove their worth.

The Jets currently have 22 rookies and a good amount of them will have a significant role on this team. Zach Wilson, the Jets’ top draft choice in 2021, has the highest expectations among all the rookies, and he’ll need as much practice time as possible. 

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Jets release S Jordyn Peters to make room for Morgan Moses

The Jets released safety Jordyn Peters after officially signing Morgan Moses.

The Jets made a roster move on Friday after officially signing Morgan Moses.

New York announced that it released safety Jordyn Peters in a corresponding move after coming to terms on a one-year deal with Moses. 

Peters went undrafted out of Auburn in the 2021 NFL draft. He later signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in May. 

Peters played four seasons at Auburn and appeared in 36 career games, registering 101 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, eight pass breakups, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble. Peters also made SEC Academic Honor Roll in three of his four years at Auburn. 

With Peters out the door, the Jets’ safety depth chart now consists of Marcus Maye, Lamarcus Joyner, Ashtyn Davis, J.T. Hassell and Sharrod Neasman. Maye and Joyner are locked in as New York’s two starters at the position, while Davis is expected to provide quality depth in his second season with the team. Neasman also adds a veteran presence to the group and will factor into Brant Boyer’s plans on special teams.

WATCH: Jets DE Carl Lawson preps for battles in the trenches with hand fighting drills

Jets defensive end Carl Lawson is spending part of his offseason working on hand-to-hand combat drills.

Carl Lawson is ready to fight in the trenches.

The Jets defensive end has been training with Ben Creamer, who teaches a hand combat program at Ignition Athletic Performance Group in Mason, Ohio. Creamer has worked with a number of NFL players over the years, including Justin Houston, Carlos Dunlap and A.J. Green.

Lawson recently got some work in with Creamer, where he showed off his hand fighting skills.

The goal of Creamer’s training is to help players improve their speed and strength by being more precise. That allows pass rushers like Lawson to get past blockers more easily by taking away their momentum.

The Jets have to hope that this type of training will increase Lawson’s sack numbers. He has 20 career sacks, but 8.5 of those came in his rookie season in 2017. Lawson only generated 5.5 sacks last season despite registering 32 quarterback hits.

The Jets are counting on Lawson to be their top pass rusher after giving him a three-year deal worth $45 million with $30 million guaranteed in free agency. Time will tell if this hand-to-hand combat training will help Lawson get to quarterbacks quicker.

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Mike LaFleur explains why Corey Davis will thrive in Jets’ new offense

Jets receiver Corey Davis has the right blend of size and skill to thrive in LaFleur’s scheme.

Mike LaFleur’s offense added a lot of exciting playmakers this offseason, but the new Jets offensive coordinator is especially intrigued by wide receiver Corey Davis.

“Corey could be good in any system,” LaFleur said this week. “He’s really good in this system because he’s got physicality, he’s got size, he can put his foot in the ground, one-foot cut and separate.”

That blend of size and skill made Davis a prime target for the Jets over the offseason. New York signed Davis to a three-year, $37.5 million deal early in free agency. He’s now the Jets’ top receiving option.

LaFleur loves what Davis can do with his body. That ability to make a one-cut move and separate from the defender opens up his massive catch radius – and LaFleur wants to exploit that with Zach Wilson’s talented arm.

“That’s what this offense kind of started to become,” LaFleur said. “When you have a guy that can put his foot in the ground sharply, still run away from you, catch the ball — our quarterbacks feel that guy. You can feel him going over the middle. You feel like he’s got a big radius and on top of it. He’s fearless. The reason you know that is because you’ve seen it on tape.”

Davis first showed promise in 2018 when the Titans hired Matt LaFleur, Mike’s brother, to run the offense. Davis tallied 65 receptions for 891 yards and four touchdowns. Two years later in 2020, Davis put together a career year with 984 yards and five touchdowns on 65 receptions.

Davis won’t be the only new receiver in this offense, though. The Jets return back slot receiver Jamison Crowder and outside receiver Denzel Mims. They also added versatile pass-catchers Keelan Cole and Elijah Moore. All are solid fits in the Jets’ offense, but LaFleur thinks Davis will get plenty to eat.

“Corey can be successful anywhere,” LaFleur said. “He’s made up of all the right stuff, but I do think this system fits him really well.”

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Quinnen Williams striving to be NFL’s most dominant defensive tackle

Quinnen Williams believes he can be the NFL’s most dominant defensive tackle after a breakout year in 2020.

Quinnen Williams is on a mission to be the best at his position.

The third-year defensive tackle had the best season of his career in 2020 after a disappointing rookie year in 2019. Williams now believes he’s heading in the right direction to becoming the most dominant defensive tackle in the NFL.

“I can’t tell the future, but every day I make sure that I take the steps to become what I want to become,” Williams said this week.

Williams has the physical traits and skillset to become a great defensive tackle. He stands at 6-foot-3 and 303 pounds but has good speed for his size. The issue for Williams over his first two NFL seasons has been his health. He has yet to play a full 16 games in the NFL due to various injuries.

The 23-year-old was the focal point of the Jets’ defense last season. Williams recorded career-highs in total tackles (55), tackles for loss (10), sacks (7), quarterback hits (14), pass breakups (3) and forced fumbles (2) in 13 games. He missed the end of the regular season after suffering a neck injury and a concussion in Week 15 against the Chargers.

Williams is currently dealing with a foot injury that he suffered in the spring. He broke a bone in his foot while working out at the Jets’ facility, which resulted in him getting surgery. The injury caused Williams to miss OTAs and mandatory minicamp. However, Williams should be ready for the start of Jets training camp on July 27.

When Williams can return to the field, he’ll get his first opportunity to practice under new Jets head coach Robert Saleh. Williams was as excited as anybody when Saleh was hired because he believes he can take his game to the next level.

“I love him,” Williams said. “I’m a huge, huge Robert Saleh fan from the beginning. Going through the draft process and getting the chance to meet him, talk to him, watching him throughout his career in the NFL. He’s a very passionate person, and he’s got a great defensive mind. Just to be able to play in this defense, you can see why it thrives… so I’m just ready to get out there and perform in it.”

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