49ers have chance to correct front office gaffe in free agency

The 49ers do need CB help…

The San Francisco 49ers front office during general manager’s John Lynch’s tenure has had some pretty significant missteps to go along with a bevy of home runs that have allowed the club to remain competitive when healthy for the last six seasons.

While gaffes like the Trey Lance trade stand out, there’s another, under-the-radar mistake Lynch and the front office actually have a chance to correct in the 2025 offseason.

Former New York Jets cornerback DJ Reed is set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens in the middle of March.

Reed originally entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick by the 49ers in the 2018 draft. It looked after his second season like Reed was working his way into a regular role in the 49ers’ secondary as a versatile safety. In the 2020 offseason he suffered a chest injury San Francisco deemed to be season-ending. They waived him with an injury designation, meaning he’d revert to season-ending IR for San Francisco as long as he cleared waivers.

“That’s a tough one for us,” Lynch said at the time in a press conference on Zoom. “The earliest we might’ve had D.J. back, was early November, but it’s a four-to-six month injury.”

The 49ers have done this a handful of times without issue, but in 2020 it backfired. When Reed hit waivers, the Seattle Seahawks pounced. Reed wound up playing in 10 games that year and a career-high 560 snaps for the Seahawks. It also proved to be a breakout campaign for Reed who moved to cornerback full time.

While the 49ers had trouble piecing together a secondary in the years after Reed’s exit, he thrived. Now he’s a free agent and San Francisco could use a third CB to play alongside Deommodore Lenoir and Renardo Green. There’s an opportunity for Lynch and the 49ers front office to bring Reed back after his unceremonious exit before the 2020 campaign.

Of course, Reed just turned 28 and has been an excellent starting CB with the Jets for the three years after his two-year Seattle tenure. He has two interceptions and 32 pass breakups the last three seasons to go along with 220 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks.

He may get priced out of what the 49ers are willing to spend on a third starting CB, but they should absolutely be in the market to try and correct a mistake they made in letting Reed out the door in the first place.

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25 Jets slated for NFL free agency this offseason

Which Jets will become free agents this offseason?

The Jets’ disastrous 2020 season is over. Now come some important decisions.

While finding a new head coach is New York’s first priority this offseason, there’s also the matter of free agency. That’s still several weeks away, but the Jets have 25 players slated to become free agents.

While the majority wouldn’t be missed if they were to sign elsewhere, Joe Douglas is going to want to retain some of those players. While he gets to work on that, here’s a list of every Jet who could hit the open market in March.

Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with OL Alex Lewis?

Here’s how the Jets should approach Alex Lewis’ free agency 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.

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.

Alex Lewis took over as a starter after Kelechi Osemele got hurt and ended up being an upgrade. However, with an overhaul of the entire offensive line coming, did Lewis do enough to keep his guard spot? Let’s take a look on how the Jets should approach Lewis’ free agency in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

After opening the season as a backup, Lewis was inserted into the starting lineup in Week 5 after Osemele went down with a shoulder injury. Once Lewis started, the Jets offensive line played significantly better, but especially in pass protection.

Lewis himself only allowed two sacks in 12 starts, which was tied for 35th in the NFL for guards, according to Pro Football Focus. Lewis brings a lot of energy in the trenches, which is part of the reason why the Jets front office decided to trade for him in the first place.

Cons of keeping him

Lewis struggled with penalties in 2019, routinely wiping out key plays for New York’s already-stagnant offense. Lewis committed six penalties, which was tied for 16th in the league for guards. That’s something the Jets can’t afford because they don’t get many big plays to begin with.

If the Jets want to move on from every single player on 2019’s dreadful line, Lewis wouldn’t be hard to replace.

The verdict

Since Douglas acquired Lewis in a trade from the Ravens and he wasn’t a holdover from the Mike Maccagnan regime, there’s a good chance the general manager tries to keep him around. It doesn’t hurt to have offensive line depth, especially one when it isn’t expensive.

Despite his inconsistencies in 2019, don’t be surprised if Lewis is back for another season in New York.

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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