Jets bring CB Arthur Maulet back on 1-year deal

The Jets need cornerbacks and Maulet provides a level of continuity after starting six games for New York in 2019.

The Jets brought back another piece of their 2019 defense by re-signing cornerback Arthur Maulet, according to his agency.

Maulet, who will turn 27 in July and was a restricted free agent, didn’t receive a tender from the Jets and had an offer from another team, according to ESPN, but decided to come back to New York. He started six games in 2019 for a depleted Jets secondary and played well next to rookie Bless Austin despite starting in only two games since he entered the NFL in 2017.

In his six starts, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Maulet recorded 23 tackles, five tackles for a loss and one interception. He also returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown on a muffed punt against the Patriots in Week 3. Maulet isn’t the biggest or the best cornerback on the Jets roster, but he provides a level of continuity on defense that Gregg Williams needs.

Maulet now re-joins the core of the Jets cornerback unit in 2019 with Austin and Brian Poole. That combination of Austin and Maulet on the outside alongside Poole in the slot actually worked well in the latter half of the season. The Jets went 5-1 in Maulet’s six starts and only allowed an average of 205.3 passing yards per game over that stretch. The Jets still need to find a true No. 1 cornerback after cutting Trumaine Johnson, but Maulet will at least be a solid role player in 2020.

Jets don’t extend tenders to 3 RFAs, including James Burgess

The Jets elected to extend tenders to restricted free agents LB James Burgess, CB Arthur Maulet and DB Bennett Jackson.

The Jets did not extend tenders to restricted free agents James Burgess, Arthur Maulet and Bennett Jackson, according to the New York Post’s Brian Costello.

All three defenders become unrestricted free agents and are free to sign with anyone. Burgess and Maulet were two players who stepped up amid team injuries and excelled in starting roles in 2019, while Jackson was primarily a depth piece.

After Avery Williamson tore his ACL, Burgess was brought in as a camp body who knew Gregg Williams’ defensive scheme from their days in Cleveland. Burgess forced to step-up after injuries to C.J. Mosley, Albert McClellan, Blake Cashman and Neville Hewitt decimated New York’s middle linebacker depth.

Burgess was dominant in the second half, recording 69 tackles and an interception in New York’s final eight games. He finished the season with 80 tackles, making a big contribution in the middle for Gang Green.

On Monday, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported that Maulet would not be tendered, but added that the Jets have interest in bringing him back at the right price.

Starting in six games, the corner played a significant role down the stretch in the Jets secondary. Maulet saw 331 defensive snaps in lieu of Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts, who both battled injuries throughout the season.

As for Jackson, the defensive back split his 2019 season between the Ravens and Jets. He didn’t make a major contribution but served as a depth piece when Jamal Adams went down with an ankle injury and played sparingly on special teams.

All three players can still be in the Jets’ future roster plans. Each is eligible to be signed by Gang Green as unrestricted free agents.

Report: Jets won’t tender RFA CB Arthur Maulet

The Jets elected not to tender restricted free agent cornerback Arthur Maulet, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The Jets will not be tendering restricted free agent cornerback Arthur Maulet, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Maulet will now become an unrestricted free agent. This does not take Maulet out of the Jets’ future roster plans, as they can still re-sign him. However, it’s likely Gang Green was unwilling to sign Maulet to original-round or low-level tenders that are worth $1.907 million.

Starting in six games last season, Maulet played a significant role in the Jets secondary down the stretch due to injuries to Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts. Maulet played 331 defensive snaps, as well as special teams, recovering a fumble for a touchdown in Week 3 against the Patriots.

Maulet is a depth piece who can contribute in sub-packages that play to his strengths. As the Jets prepare for free agency to ramp up, Maulet could still be in their plans for the right price.

2020 NFL Free Agency: Robby Anderson among Jets options for Saints

The New Orleans Saints need help at wide receiver, and New York Jets star wideout Robby Anderson might be one of the best in free agency.

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There was a lot of bad football played at MetLife Stadium last year, the home of both the New York Giants and the New York Jets. But free agency could see players hit the market who might intrigue the New Orleans Saints, who will be on the lookout for upgrades as well as greater depth for their roster. Here are all of the Jets free agents in the 2020 offseason:

CB Brian Poole
CB Maurice Canady
CB Arthur Maulet (RFA)
CB Bennett Jackson (ERFA)
DE Brandon Copeland
FS Rontez Miles
K Sam Ficken (ERFA)
LB Frankie Luvu (ERFA)
LB Paul Worrilow
LB Jordan Jenkins
LB Neville Hewitt
LB Albert McClellan
LB James Burgess (RFA)
LB B.J. Bello (RFA)
OC Ryan Kalil
OG Tom Compton
OG Alex Lewis
OT Kelvin Beachum
OT Brent Qvale
OT Leo Koloamatangi (RFA)
OT Brandon Shell
P Lac Edwards
QB Trevor Siemian
QB David Fales
RB Bilal Powell
RB Ty Montgomery
WR Robby Anderson
WR Demaryius Thomas
WR Josh Malone (RFA)
WR Jeff Smith (ERFA)

Robby Anderson is the best player on this list, a big-play threat at wide receiver who has struggled with spotty quarterback play in his Jets career. He’ll command top dollar on the open market and is likely going to be priced out of the Saints’ budget, but he’s worth monitoring in their search for a number-two compliment to Michael Thomas.

The Saints need to start adding to the depth chart at cornerback, and the Jets offer several interesting options. Two of them are already familiar to the Saints in Arthur Maulet (a restricted free agent), a New Orleans native whose pro career started with the Saints, and Brian Poole, a former Falcons role player. Either of them might make sense for the Saints as backup material.

Don’t overlook Trevor Siemian, at least while the Saints have a vacancy or two at quarterback. Like Teddy Bridgewater, Siemian is a former starter who does his best work from the pocket. Those qualities could convince Sean Payton to give him a shot, but Siemian’s lack of pro success and above-average arm talent probably keeps him in a reserve role.

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6 cornerbacks the Jets should target in free agency

Jets Wire takes a look at six cornerbacks Joe Douglas and company should target in free agency.

The Jets struggled at multiple positions in 2019, but no unit was worse than New York’s cornerbacks.

Aside from Brian Poole, who is set to hit free agency, the Jets got little to no production out of their corners throughout the season. Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts were downright awful. Bless Austin showed some flashes of potential in his rookie year, but found himself benched by season’s end. Arthur Maulet and Maurice Canady had their moments, but are not exactly proven starters that New York can rely on entering 2020.

Fortunately for Joe Douglas and the Jets, there are plenty of solid free agent cornerbacks available this offseason. Which ones should New York target? Let’s take a look.

Chris Harris

Although he is getting up there in age, Harris remains one of football’s upper echelon cornerbacks. Opposing quarterbacks seldom threw at the 31-year-old in 2019 as Harris anchored a Broncos secondary that ranked just outside the top 20 in passing yards allowed per game.

Harris is by far the best cornerback on this year’s free agent market. However, he is on the wrong side of 30 and will be worth around $11 million per year, according to Spotrac. The Jets have been burned handing out large contracts to aging corners in recent years, which could give the front office pause on pursuing the four-time Pro Bowler.

Will Douglas and company go all-in and take a shot at bringing Harris to the Big Apple? If New York deems the veteran worth his price tag, it will be firmly in the race for his services.

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Cap Cut Candidate: Should Jets move on from CB Trumaine Johnson?

Should the Jets keep Trumaine Johnson for another season? Jets Wire says no way.

Before free agency kicks off in March, Jets general manager Joe Douglas is going to have some decisions to make on players already at One Jets Drive.

Along with New York’s 32 impending free agents, there are a handful of players who could be shown the door in an effort to free up salary cap space. The Jets have $53 million to spend right now, according to Spotrac. That number could grow exponentially if Douglas parts ways with players eating up a large chunk of Gang Green’s payroll.

Among those who are a candidate to become a cap casualty is cornerback Trumaine Johnson. After signing a massive five-year, $72.5 million with the Jets in 2018, Johnson has been nothing short of a disappointment in his time with the team. Should he be granted another season to figure things out? Let’s evaluate the situation.

Pros of keeping him

The Jets are in bad shape at cornerback. Brian Poole is set to hit free agency and there is no guarantee he returns to the Big Apple next season. Darryl Roberts was awful in 2019 and is also a candidate to get cut. If Johnson is let go, that leaves New York with Bless Austin, Kyron Brown and Nate Hairston. Maurice Canady and Arthur Maulet are set to hit the open market.

Yes, Johnson has underperformed since joining the Jets. However, there is a reason why he was once the best cornerbacks in football. The 30-year-old has lost a step the last couple of years, but who is to say he can’t bounce back and put together a productive 2020 season? He did look good in training camp last summer before injuring his hamstring, after all.

Cornerback is New York’s weakest position group at this juncture. Why not give Johnson one last shot to get it right?

Cons of keeping him

There is really no point in keeping Johnson at his current salary. New York owes him $11 million next season. Johnson is not worth that number considering how he has performed the last two seasons.

If the Jets release Johnson before June 1, they would absorb $12 million in dead cap, but free up $3 million in cap space. That would allow Douglas to go out and sign a corner to replace him in free agency.

Not only does cutting Johnson make sense from a financial standpoint, but from a schematic point of view as well. Johnson found himself in defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ doghouse before landing on injured reserve. With the Jets looking to get younger, why would they keep an underperforming and overpaid veteran around?

The verdict

The argument that New York’s cornerback room would become even more of a mess without Johnson could give reason to believe he is worth keeping around for another year, but do not be fooled by this line of thinking.

Keeping Johnson does not solve anything. Just because he has a history of elite production does not mean he is magically going to return to that level of play. The Jets should not keep Johnson. Period.

The bottom line is, New York is better off without its 30-year-old, $72.5 million dollar man on the roster. It’s time to move on from arguably the worst free agent signing in franchise history.

Morris Claiborne enjoying small role in Chiefs secondary

The Jets didn’t want to keep Morris Claiborne in 2019, but he’s contributing in a small role on the Chiefs.

Cornerback was one of the most polarizing positions on the Jets roster this season. Between the ineptitude of Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts and the rise and fall of Bless Austin and Arthur Maulet, the Jets rarely saw consistent play in the secondary.

One player who New York missed was veteran cornerback Morris Claiborne, who the Chiefs signed after the Jets let him walk this offseason. Claiborne had two solid seasons in New York as one of the team’s top outside cornerbacks, but the Jets wanted to go younger in their secondary and decided not to offer Claiborne another contract.

“I enjoyed it,” Claiborne said on his time with the Jets. “I felt like I had two solid years of playing, going out starting, being the No. 1 corner. … I feel like the two years I was there, my stats were career highs in both years there.”

He’s not wrong. Claiborne set career highs in interceptions, pass breakups and total tackles during the 2018 season and he finished his Jets tenure with 100 combined tackle, three interceptions and 22 pass breakups in 30 games. After watching Johnson and Roberts struggle throughout the season, Adam Gase and Joe Douglas probably wish they retained Claiborne for just another year.

Claiborne’s time in Kansas City got off to a rocky start. The Chiefs signed Claiborne to a one-year, $1.5 million contract on August 8, but he was suspended for the first four games of the season after violating the league’s substance-abuse policy and only played in a handful of games after being activated on October 3. He played in eight games, averaged 24.75 snaps per game and finished with 14 total tackles this season. Though he missed both of the Chiefs’ playoff games with a shoulder injury there’s a chance he suits up for the Super Bowl.

“It’s awesome,” Claiborne said about playing for a Super Bowl. “It makes everything worth it. When I look at all of these cuts on my knees and shoulders, this is what it was all for.”

Clairborne came with a ton of injury concerns after only playing half of his total games between 2013-2016. He shook off those concerns during his two years in New York, though, and appeared healthy in Kansas City until his most recent shoulder injury. Clairborne could get another shot with the Chiefs or another team next season, but he’ll turn 30 a few days after the Super Bowl and didn’t prove to be a huge contributor in 2019. If he doesn’t get another contract this offseason, there’s a chance the former first-round pick would retire.

Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with CB Arthur Maulet?

Jets Wire takes a look at whether or not New York should bring back cornerback and impending free-agent cornerback Arthur Maulet.

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.

Arthur Maulet bounced from New York’s active roster to the practice squad throughout the first half of the regular season. Once he settled in as a permanent member of Gang Green’s 53-man roster in late October, the 5-foot-10 cornerback performed well enough to warrant starting duties down the stretch. Was Maulet’s strong second half enough to warrant a return in 2020? Let’s evaluate in the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

For a three-week stretch in November, Maulet teamed up with Bless Austin to form a formidable cornerback duo, one New York lacked throughout much of 2019.

Maulet’s not the biggest corner, but he has impressive range and solid ball skills. The Jets wouldn’t be keeping him with designs on inserting him into the starting lineup on a permanent basis, but Maulet could serve as a key depth piece for a unit that is lacking in that area.

Cons of keeping him

Maulet played well enough in the second half of 2019, but his sample size is extremely small and tough to evaluate. Other than his three-week stretch of standout play, how good was he really?

Maulet’s size also working against him more often than not. He isn’t a true nickel cornerback and is usually faced with a mismatch against bigger receivers on the outside. That’s far from ideal and could be a reason why Douglas lets the 26-year-old walk in free agency.

The verdict

Maulet is your typical solid backup cornerback. He can perform well in a pinch and typically gets the job done in a minimal role. Is he a player the Jets can start for 16 games? Probably not, but he contributes in sub-packages that play to his strengths. That leads us to believe Douglas will opt to re-sign him at a relatively cheap rate this offseason.

Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with CB Brian Poole?

Jets Wire takes a look at whether or not New York should bring back cornerback and impending free agent cornerback Brian Poole.

Before Joe Douglas can focus on who he plans on targeting 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 others it’s safe to assume the Jets would like to keep around for a while. Either way, Douglas has a lot of work to do in his first offseason on the job.

Brian Poole signed with the Jets in February after the Falcons let him go following the most productive season of his career. It wound up being Mike Maccagnan’s best move of the offseason, as Poole was New York’s best cornerback throughout 2019.

The Florida product earned only $3 million last season. It’s safe to assume he’s in line for a raise considering the way he performed for the Jets. Should Douglas pay the man? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of bringing him back

The Jets took a chance on Poole and he repaid them by turning in impactful performances on a weekly basis. In a year in which New York’s cornerbacks were simply not good, his presence was much-needed.

Poole was excellent both in coverage and helping out in run support around the line of scrimmage. It’s rare that a nickel corner is willing to get physical at the line and be a willing tackler, but Poole was exactly that throughout 2019.

Saying the Jets are thin at cornerback entering 2020 would be an understatement. Trumaine Johnson and most likely Darryl Roberts are on their way out the door. Bless Austin showed promise last season but still has a long way to go. Arthur Maulet is a free agent. Letting Poole walk given the current state of the cornerback room would be a mistake.

Cons of bringing him back

Poole struggled with injuries at the end of 2019, missing two of New York’s final four games. His production also dipped a bit in the second half of the season with only 14 tackles and one pass breakup after a red-hot start to the year.

The verdict

There’s a reason why the cons part of this free agent profile is so short. Poole should without a doubt be back with the Jets in 2020.

Yes, his production did dip slightly at the end of the season, but it wasn’t realistic to expect the Florida product to rack up double-digit tackles every game for the whole season. The fact of the matter is, Poole is the perfect player to play the nickel in Gregg Williams’ defense. His physicality and coverage skills play perfectly into what Williams likes to do.

Poole’s going to be worth a good amount on the open market, but he won’t be getting a contract that is out of New York’s price range. Douglas needs to do what he can to ensure Poole is back in green and white next season.

8 free agents the Jets should bring back in 2020

Jets Wire breaks down which free agents the Jets should bring back next season.

With the 2019 regular season in the books, it’s time for the Jets to look ahead.

Joe Douglas has a lot of decisions to make in his first offseason as a general manager. New York has a whopping 32 players set to hit free agency. Some have no chance of returning to One Jets Drive. Others are certainly worth keeping around for 2020 and beyond.

So, which free agents should Douglas place an emphasis on keeping in the Big Apple? Let’s take a look.

Robby Anderson

This one is a no brainer. The Jets aren’t going to get any better on offense in 2020 if they don’t have weapons. Anderson isn’t quite a true No. 1 wideout, but he possesses a skill set that can help Sam Darnold take the next step next season.

Whether or not Anderson returns to New York depends on if Douglas is willing to meet his contractual demands. If Anderson wants around $13-15 million per year, as The Athletic’s Connor Hughes reported, the Jets might be better off allowing the Temple product to seek a new home. He’s worth keeping around at the right price, though.

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