Sam Ficken, Frankie Luvu among 4 Jets tendered

Sam Ficken, Frankie Luvu, B.J. Bello and Leo Koloamatangi were all tendered as ERFAs.

Four Jets have been tendered as exclusive rights free agents.

They would be none other than K Sam Ficken, LB Frankie Luvu, LB B.J. Bello and OL Leo Koloamatangi, according to The AP. Since these four players were tendered as ERFAs, they will receive the NFL minimum salary for the 2020 season.

This prevents any of these four players from negotiating with any other team. Had the Jets not tendered them, they would have become free agents.

Ficken is the most notable played tendered out of the four. In his first full-time gig, the kicker had his ups and downs. He was 19-27 on field goals in 2019 and 23-26 on extra points. Ficken’s struggles lied with kicking from distance. Seven of his eight missed field goals came from 40+ yards away.

At the moment, the Jets have a kicking competition on their hands heading into 2020. They signed Brett Maher a couple of months ago and he will have to compete with Ficken for the starting job come training camp.

As for Luvu, he was primarily a backup last season. He made 10 total tackles along with registering a sack. Bello was on and off the Jets’ roster all season long and recorded three tackles in eight games.

Koloamatangi was signed to the practice squad at the end of October and was promoted to the active roster in November. However, he did not see any game action.

Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with OLB Brandon Copeland?

Jets Wire evaluates if New York should re-sign impending free agent outside linebacker Brandon Copeland this offseason.

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.

Brandon Copeland’s 2019 season got off to a fortuitous start, but he proved to be a relatively productive rotational linebacker as the year progressed. Will he be back with New York in 2020? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

After returning to the field in October following a four-game suspension to begin the season, Copeland made an instant impact by recording 28 tackles in his first five games. That might not seem like a big number, but considering the banged up state of New York’s linebacker room upon his return, Copeland’s production was much-needed.

Copeland also offers positional versatility. He is predominantly an edge rusher, but can also line up on the inside and make plays in the run game.

Cons of keeping him

Copeland didn’t contribute much following his strong five-game stretch, registering only seven tackles over New York’s final six games.

The fact that Copeland didn’t see much playing time down the stretch speaks volumes when it comes to his future with the team. Yes, teams who are not making the playoffs use the end of the season to give younger players an extended run, but the Jets didn’t have many linebackers in the mix due to injury.

Copeland couldn’t crack a thin linebacker core at the end of the season. With that in mind, it’s hard to see him having a spot when C.J. Mosley, Avery Williamson and Blake Cashman come back healthy next season. Factor in young edge rushers such as Jordan Jenkins and Frankie Luvu likely returning and Copeland’s future with the team becomes even grimmer.

The verdict

All signs point towards Copeland not returning next season. He is at the bottom of the pecking order in New York’s outside linebacker rotation and it’s hard to see him rising past any of Gang Green’s younger pass rushers.

Copeland had a fruitful stay at One Jets Drive, but odds are his time in Florham Park is up.

Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with OLB Frankie Luvu?

Should the Jets re-sign free agent outside linebacker Frankie Luvu this offseason? Jets Wire evaluates the situation.

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.

Frankie Luvu established himself as a solid piece on New York’s defense in 2018 as a situational pass rusher. Things didn’t go as planned for the Washington State product last season, as he struggled to get to opposing quarterbacks. Still, Luvu has plenty of traits that could warrant a return in 2020.

What will Douglas do with the former undrafted free agent? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

Luvu is coming off a down year, but there is still something to be said about what he brought to the table in 2018.

Luvu recorded three sacks and 11 quarterback hits as a rookie, demonstrating his ability to beat tackles rushing off the edge with relative consistency. He struggled to replicate his rookie year form in his first season playing for defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, but there is reason to believe he can right the ship in 2020.

Luvu turns 24 in September. Why let a young, talented pass rusher hit the open market when he can be kept at a cheap price?

Cons of keeping him

Luvu’s drop in production last season indicates that he might not be able to produce in Williams’ defensive scheme.

It’s confusing as to why Luvu struggled playing for the veteran defensive coordinator. Williams sometimes asks his outside linebackers to drop into coverage, but when Luvu saw the field, he was used mostly as a situational pass rusher. For whatever reason, his ability to get to opposing quarterbacks disappeared from September to December

Regardless of the reason, Luvu’s performance in 2019 is concerning and could put his future with the franchise in jeopardy.

The verdict

Luvu likely winds up back with the Jets in 2020 for a couple of reasons. For starters, there is no reason to give up on the young edge rusher just yet. One bad season does not mean he can’t get back on track with a little bit of refinery.

There is also Luvu’s status as an exclusive restricted free agent. Considering no other team is likely to offer him anything close resembling an above-average market value deal, the Jets can retain a young piece on the cheap. It doesn’t get much better than that for Douglas and company.

5 interesting stats from Jets’ Week 11 win over Redskins

The Jets won their second consecutive game of the season, beating the Redskins 34-17 in a rather convincing fashion.

The Jets played their most complete game of the season on Sunday, beating the Redskins, 34-17.

After turning in a 34-27 win over their roommates to halt a three-game losing streak last week, the Jets delivered their first road win of the season in Washington, improving to 3-1 against the NFC East this season. Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams both had career days, while Adam Gase and Gregg Williams executed flawless gameplans despite deficiencies.

Let’s take a look at some interesting stats from Gang Green’s third win of the season.

Career Day for Griffin

Ryan Griffin had a career day, as he’s done an excellent job filling in for Chris Herndon, who is out for the season with broken ribs.

Griffin entered the day with a single-game career-high of 85 receiving yards. He recorded the first 100-yard receiving game of his career, catching five passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s win.

Per Michael Nania, Griffin’s 109 receiving yards were the most by a Jets tight end since Dustin Keller posted 115 in Week 2 of 2010 against New England. Griffin’s 100-yard game is the first since Keller had 101 in Week 2 of 2011 against Jacksonville.

Pages: 12345