Tag: Mike Maccagnan

Jets rank last in NFL in dead money

The Jets have the least amount of dead money in the NFL.

For once, the Jets rank last in something positive.

New York has the least dead money in the NFL with just $2.08 million, according to Over The Cap. That money is tied to just four players: TE Ryan Griffin ($686,118), DE Jabari Zuniga ($498,684) QB James Morgan ($357,632) and OT Cameron Clark ($35,496).

This is in stark contrast to what the Jets’ dead cap situation has looked like recently. New York had the third-most dead money over the previous three seasons with $117 million over that span, per Warren Sharp. The Jets paid 20 players a combined $31 million last year alone with the likes of CB  Trumaine Johnson, QB Sam Darnold and RB Le’Veon Bell still on the books.

Those numbers were all thanks to poor drafting and poor free agent signings by Mike Maccagnan during his tenure as the Jets’ GM. Joe Douglas did his best to rid the team of those bad deals when he joined the Jets in 2019 and is finally starting to see the fruits of his labor in 2022.

Not only do the Jets have their financials cleaned up from the previous regime, but the team doesn’t have too many bad contracts left on the books that would force them to incur any more major dead cap hits. The biggest potential dead money hits are tied to players the Jets have no interest in moving right now, like C.J. Mosley, Carl Lawson, Corey Davis and John Franklin-Myers.

Having so little dead cap means the Jets are using almost all of their cap space on players who can actually help the team now. It also helps that Douglas adopted the strategy of building through the draft rather than overpaying for players or signing deals that aren’t team-friendly.

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Ex-Jets GM Mike Maccagnan looks even worse after Bills-Chiefs thriller

Ex-Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan had a chance to draft Patrick Mahomes in 2017 and Josh Allen in 2018. He took neither.

Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes wrapped up the divisional round of the playoffs over the weekend by putting on a show nobody will forget anytime soon. Both quarterbacks were surgical with their throws all game long, lighting up the scoreboard with touchdown pass after touchdown pass until Mahomes and the Chiefs finally won in overtime.

All the Jets could do was sit at home and watch as two quarterbacks they could have drafted further established themselves as elite. Gang Green’s former general manager, Mike Maccagnan, had his chance to pick Mahomes and Allen in consecutive years. Instead, he went in different directions — ones that didn’t lead to much winning.

The quarterback-needy Jets selected S Jamal Adams with the sixth pick over Mahomes, who went off the board four picks later, in 2017. Maccagnan also passed on Deshaun Watson, who was picked 12th by the Texans, that year, but Mahomes is the more glaring miss given his talent and the legal issues that have followed Watson recently.

Adams proved to be an elite-level safety before he talked his way out of town, but there’s no good reason why Maccagnan valued a player at his position over a quarterback of Mahomes’ caliber. Only the Bears messed up worse than Maccagnan by taking Mitchell Trubisky with the second pick.

Maccagnan got a chance to redeem himself the following draft. He traded up to put the Jets in a position to draft a franchise quarterback and took Sam Darnold over Allen. Darnold and Baker Mayfield were the top quarterbacks on New York’s draft board in 2018. The Jets even had Josh Rosen ranked above Allen, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Granted, Allen was very raw coming out of Wyoming. He had the best arm of any quarterback in the 2018 draft, but it was widely thought that his mechanics needed to be refined and other aspects of his game needed to be improved.

All of that has happened in Buffalo, and he is now a top-five quarterback.

It would be foolish to say that the Jets would be a top-flight team like the Bills or Chiefs if they had just drafted Allen or Mahomes. Allen landed in the perfect situation for him with Brian Daboll taking over his development and Buffalo surrounding him with weapons and a No.1 defense. Mahomes might have had the natural talent to be New York’s savior, but even he likely would have been hard-pressed to achieve what he has so far in his career playing in the Big Apple. Playing and learning under Andy Reid beats playing for any coach the Jets have employed since Mahomes entered the league.

With all of that being said, Allen and Mahomes lighting the NFL on fire is yet another indictment of Maccagnan’s inability to properly evaluate talent. Hindsight is always 20/20 and nobody could have predicted Mahomes developing into a generational talent, but Maccagnan drafted a safety over him when his team clearly needed a quarterback.

Then, when they were actively looking for a quarterback the next year, the Jets never gave Allen serious consideration.

It looks like New York finally has a general manager who knows how to draft. Joe Douglas’ 2020 class — one that had to be mostly evaluated virtually due to the pandemic — hasn’t panned out yet, but it looks like he hit a home run with his 2021 group. It’s hard not to wonder what could have been if Maccagnan had simply done the right thing with one of his two opportunities to land a franchise quarterback, though.

That seems like it’s the case for the Jets more often than not. The hope in New York is that Douglas nailed it with Zach Wilson after Maccagnan repeatedly failed.

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Robert Saleh tells fans Jets have ‘an actual plan’ this time around

Robert Saleh swears the Jets have a real rebuilding plan this time around. It would be understandable if Gang Green fans were skeptical.

On its surface, the Jets’ 2021 season looks disastrous.

The team is 2-8 with the worst defense in the NFL, a still-developing rookie quarterback, and on track for another top-five draft pick. Robert Saleh doesn’t think everyone should panic, though. Despite the team’s recent failures and multiple rebuilds over the past 20 years, Saleh believes he and Joe Douglas finally have the formula to create a winning culture in New York.

“I respect the heck out of the urgency from the fans and the wanting to flip this thing, but in fairness, this is the first time this fan base is actually experiencing something like this,” Saleh said Monday. “Usually it’s been a quick fix, followed by a scramble. This is an actual plan.”

Queue the “it’s all part of the plan” clip from The Dark Knight.

Saleh was referencing the decisions made by past regimes under Mike Tannenbaum, John Idzik and Mike Maccagnan. Their years at the helm featured poor draft picks, bad trades and worse free agent signings. Saleh praised Douglas’ roster construction strategy and spoke about “exciting pieces” that are “hidden” among the losses – likely a nod to the performances of 2021 rookies like Elijah Moore, Michael Carter and Alijah Vera-Tucker.

“When you sit back and watch it from our perspective and the combination of veterans and youth, it’s definitely going in the right direction and eventually, while frustrating today, is going to be awesome when this thing gets flipped,” Saleh added.

Why is Saleh so confident that this plan will be more successful than the previous ones? He touched on his experiences with four other teams that went to through similar rebuilding efforts in Houston, Jacksonville, Seattle and San Francisco. The Seahawks and the 49ers made it to a Super Bowl, but Saleh noted Houston and Jacksonville grew tremendously during his time there.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my NFL career. This is the fifth team that we’ve attempted to rebuild,” he said. “While fans are frustrated, which I greatly appreciate, it’s a model that we’ve been through several times – four times for me – and it’s a model that looks like it’s moving in the direction exactly the way we want.”

Players aren’t lost on the plan. Veteran tackle Morgan Moses, who witnessed a few roster teardowns during his time in Washington, preached patience as well.

“One thing in this league – you gotta have patience,” Moses said Monday, per SNY. “Rome wasn’t built in one day, and this thing is not gonna turn around in one day.”

It may take more than one season for the “plan” to be fulfilled, but Saleh thinks the development of the team’s two most recent draft classes plus the plethora of draft capital in 2022 can push the Jets closer to their end goal.

“This team’s moving in the right direction,” Saleh said, “and really, I’m excited for the flip that it’s going to have.”

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6 thoughts on Jets, Marcus Maye failing to sign an extension

Marcus Maye didn’t get a new contract before the July 15 deadline, which means his future with the Jets is uncertain at best.

Marcus Maye didn’t get a new contract before the July 15 deadline, which means his future with the Jets is uncertain at best.

With no new deal in place, the Jets cannot offer Maye another contract until next offseason, when they could also place a second franchise tag on the safety. If not, he will hit the open market in 2022. Of course, there’s also a chance he’s traded before that.

This sets up an interesting storyline for the Jets throughout the season. Maye is one of the most experienced players on the defense – and certainly in the secondary – but he’ll play this season on his franchise tag with the hopes of landing a long-term extension next summer. That’s Maye’s future, but the Jets’ future at the safety position is entirely unclear now.

As Gang Green tries to figure that out, here are six thoughts on the Jets and Maye failing to come to terms.

Le’Veon Bell rips Adam Gase-era Jets on Twitter

Le’Veon Bell blamed the Jets for his recent failures in a series of tweets on Thursday.

The future is bright at One Jets Drive with Robert Saleh running the show, but it wasn’t too long ago that Florham Park was a hopeless place under Adam Gase’s watch.

Gase ran the Jets into the ground throughout his two years with the team, making New York the laughingstock of football for the majority of 2020. Le’Veon Bell was one of many who was part of the trainwreck for a year and a half before his unceremonious release midway through last season.

On Thursday, Bell took to social media to provide some insight into just how bad the Gase era was, taking shots at his former team in a series of tweets.

While Bell’s gripe with the way his time with the Jets went is somewhat warranted, there are some holes in his argument. Bell finished eighth in the NFL in touches with 311 in 2019. That does not play into his theory that he was not given enough opportunities to make plays, even if Gase’s playcalling was predictable.

Bell also flopped with the Chiefs after the Jets released him in October, rushing for just 254 yards and two touchdowns on 63 carries in nine games with Kansas City. Yardage was even tougher for Bell to come by after he left New York, indicating the 29-year-old has indeed lost a step — even if he isn’t willing to admit it.

Bell did plenty of good things off the field while he was with the Jets, but he will ultimately be remembered as a free agent signing Mike Maccagnan never should have made. Gase deserves nearly all the blame for New York’s recent failures, but Bell never did much to make himself part of the solution.

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The Jets’ 2016 draft class is all gone after Jordan Jenkins’ departure

Jordan Jenkins’ free agency departure closes the book on Jets’ 2016 draft class.

The Jets’ 2016 draft class is no more.

With Jordan Jenkins signing a two-year deal with the Texans, not a single player from Mike Maccagnan’s second draft class remains on New York’s roster. Jenkins was Gang Green’s longest-tenured player, but that title now belongs to Marcus Maye.

Maccagnan’s second draft class is a big reason why he’s New York’s former general manager. His second draft at the helm was supposed to be a pivotal part of the Jets roster structure. Instead, only three players, including Jenkins, remain on NFL teams.

Jenkins joins Darron Lee, Christian Hackenberg, Juston Burris, Brandon Shell, Lachlan Edwards and Charone Peake as 2016 draft picks who have since moved on from New York. The Jets’ 2015 and 2016 draft classes no longer have a footprint on New York’s roster, while Maye is the lone representative from the 2017 class.

Jenkins’s tenure in New York was prolonged by an extra season. He looked as if he could be a free agent departure last offseason, but his market never materialized and he returned on a team-friendly deal.

Gang Green’s switch to a 4-3 defense spelled the end of the veteran outside linebacker’s career with the Jets. The University of Georgia product better fits a 3-4 defensive front and figures to play well in Lovie Smith’s defense in Houston.

Adam Gase thinks Le’Veon Bell is focused on winning vs. Jets, not revenge

Adam Gase believes Le’Veon Bell’s main focus is on winning against the Jets.

Adam Gase doesn’t think Le’Veon Bell will have revenge on his mind when Kansas City hosts the Jets on Sunday.

Bell will get to see his former team in only his second game as a Chief. He made his debut last week against Denver. While many believe that Bell will have a little extra motivation playing Gase and the Jets, the head coach thinks the running back will treat it like any other game.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that he’s going to be worried about just winning a game, period,” Gase said, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “That’s what most players are worried about. They’re worried about, ‘Hey, what do I have to do this week to help my team win?’ So, I’m sure that’s what he’s going to be worried about doing. We’ve got a lot of guys to worry about on that side of the ball against them.”

Obviously, Bell’s main focus is on winning the game, but it wouldn’t be a shock to most if he wants to stick it to the Jets for releasing him. Bell’s tenure with the Jets didn’t go according to plan and he was rarely happy with the way in which Gase used him.

In 17 games with the Jets, Bell had 863 rushing yards, 500 receiving yards and four total touchdowns. It was well under Bell’s usual numbers that he put up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Out of the five seasons Bell was in Pittsburgh, he had three 1,000+-yard seasons.

It was reported that Gase never wanted Bell in the first place. Mike Maccagnan signed Bell in 2019 to a four-year deal worth $52.5 million. Maccagnan was fired soon after, and Gase then failed to use Bell properly in his offense. A few weeks backs, Bell liked some tweets about not being a big enough factor in the passing game and about being traded. He was released a few days later.

Now Bell will get his shot on Sunday to make the Jets look silly for releasing him — and pick up a win, something his old team has yet to do.

The Cardinals got Kyler Murray an elite weapon. The Jets haven’t been as kind to Sam Darnold.

The Arizona Cardinals got Kyler Murray Deandre Hopkins, while the Jets have given Sam Darnold nothing at wide receiver.

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When Sam Darnold looks over at the Cardinals’ sideline on Sunday, he will see one of the NFL’s best wide receivers in DeAndre Hopkins. Then the injured Jets quarterback will look over at his own wideouts and see a cluster of no-name pass-catchers.

Three years into Darnold’s career, the Jets have failed to get him the weapon he needs in order to be successful. The Cardinals, meanwhile, traded for Hopkins this past offseason to help Kyler Murray. Amazingly, the price for Hopkins wasn’t too steep, as Arizona gave up a second-round pick, a fourth-round pick and RB David Johnson.

New York, meanwhile, let Darnold’s favorite target, Robby Anderson, walk in free agency and sign with the Carolina Panthers. In response, the Jets signed Breshad Perriman for $4 million less than what Anderson got from the Panthers. Anderson has put up elite numbers through four games with 28 catches for 377 yards and a touchdown. Perriman, meanwhile, has five catches for 29 yards and has only played in two games this season due to injury.

Joe Douglas drafted only one wide receiver in Baylor’s Denzel Mims this past April. He has yet to step foot on the field this season, as he’s dealt with injuries to both hamstrings. Douglas used a fourth-round pick on Jame Morgan, a quarterback out of FIU who has no chance of seeing the field in 2020, barring multiple injuries to the other Jets quarterbacks. That pick could’ve easily been used to take another wide receiver.

Douglas isn’t the only one to blame, though. His predecessor, Mike Maccagnan, never picked a wide receiver in the draft after selecting Darnold in 2018. Maccagnan only picked three skill position players in the 2018 and 2019 drafts, including Chris Herndon, Trevon Wesco and Trenton Cannon. Herndon is becoming invisible in the Jets’ offense, while Wesco is primarily a blocking tight end. Cannon is no longer with the Jets.

Looking at some of the other young quarterbacks in the league, it’s hard to argue any of them have a worst supporting cast than Darnold. Murray has Hopkins, Josh Allen has Stefon Diggs, Patrick Mahomes has Tyreek Hill and Baker Mayfield has Odell Beckham Jr. And those are just those quarterback’s No. 1 receivers. Nevermind the depth they have to work with.

So while Darnold has not lived up to expectations in two-plus years as a starting quarterback, to put all the blame on him is unfair. Not many quarterbacks could do well with what the Jets have for offensive weapons. Throw in a poor offensive line and a head coach that has hindered Darnold’s development, and it’s easy to see why the gunslinger has not succeeded, his own mistakes — and there’s been plenty — notwithstanding.

When Darnold does see Murray connect with Hopkins on Sunday, he should be jealous because the Cardinals have done right by their franchise quarterback. They’ve supplied him with am elite wide receiver and a talented cast, while Darnold doesn’t even know who he’ll be throwing the ball to each week.

Ex-Jets CB Trumaine Johnson cut from Panthers practice squad

The Panthers cut former Jets cornerback Trumaine Johnson from their practice squad on Friday.

Former Jets cornerback Trumaine Johnson is back on the unemployment line.

The Panthers released Johnson from their practice squad on Friday in order to make room for kicker Kai Forbath. Carolina signed Johnson to its practice squad on Sept. 19, but the 30-year-old did not last a full week with the organization.

The Jets parted ways with Johnson this past offseason following an underwhelming and tumultuous two-year stint with the team. Former GM Mike Maccagnan inked Johnson to a five-year, $72.5 million deal with $34 million in guaranteed money in 2018 to make him New York’s highest-paid defensive back since Darrelle Revis. However, Johnson never came close to holding up his end of the bargain, routinely getting burned in coverage and caught not giving his maximum effort.

Johnson started 10 games for the Jets in 2018, recording 40 tackles, five pass breakups and four interceptions. Despite the four interceptions, he graded out as one of the worst cornerbacks in the NFL that season. Last year was more of the same, as Johnson struggled again before landing on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury after only seven games.

It remains to be seen if Johnson will draw any interest now that he is back on the open market. If the Montana product does not hear from any teams soon, it could mean the end of what has been a lucrative NFL career.

Adam Gase misused Le’Veon Bell in 2019. How can the Jets fix that in 2020?

Le’Veon Bell had a bad 2019, but Adam Gase can remedy that by incorporating Bell differently into the Jets offense.

Adam Gase knows he didn’t use Le’Veon Bell properly in his first season with the team. He admitted as much Wednesday during a video conference with reporters.

“I feel like I did a bad job at the beginning of the season,” he said. “I was really trying to get [Bell] going – and at the same time teams knew what we were doing and they were loading up the box and he was taking some shots. I’m sure that wore on him as the season went on.”

Bell finished with his worst season since his rookie year, finishing with career-lows in almost every statistical category while seeing a drop in touches, yards and touchdowns. He also ranked among the least efficient running backs in the league last season with a 42 percent success rate, according to Football Outsiders.

The Jets need to incorporate Bell in their offense in a smart, efficient way if they hope to improve in 2020. That means different looks out of the backfield for Bell – especially in the passing game – as well as different offensive schemes. Gase failed to use Bell properly in 2019 – partly because of the porous offensive line and partly because of his gameplan – but appeared open to making changes in 2020.

“I have to do a good job of making sure he’s getting his touches,” Gase said, “but at the same time we’re putting him at the best position possible to get to 16-plus games.” 

Increased production for Bell should come with a better offensive line. Joe Douglas brought in an entirely new line for 2020 through free agency, the draft and roster cuts. That includes Mekhi Becton, the 6-foot-5 tackle who’s prowess in Louisville’s zone-blocking scheme helped the Cardinals average 213.8 rushing yards per game and 4.8 yards per rush. Any upgrade in run blocking should elevate Bell’s ability to rush considering his per-carry averages before and after contact of 1.17 and 2.0 were among the worst in the NFL.

But the biggest strategy change that would lead to a more successful 2020 campaign for Bell revolves around adding different plays for Bell into the gameplan. 

Gase mentioned that he tried too hard early on in the season to get Bell going quickly – he averaged 25.75 touches in the first four weeks of the season – and that led to team’s loading the box and punishing Bell with early hits. That could change by incorporating other running backs into the backfield more and putting Bell out wide more to give him space to catch the football.

In Pittsburgh, Bell flourished as a pseudo-receiver for the Steelers, which was part of the reason he held out for the 2018 season looking for a lucrative contract. He averaged 101.67 targets in the three seasons between 2015 and 2017 in which he played at least 12 games. But in New York, he was only targeted 78 times. That can’t happen if the Jets want Bell to play at a Pro Bowl level, and Gase knows that.  He mentioned he’s looking into “getting the ball in [Bell’s] hands and letting him go do different things.” 

“We have to make sure he’s the primary guy in some of the passing game stuff,” Gase continued. 

That means running Bell out wide rather than having him catch passes out of the backfield or in the flat. He proved in Pittsburgh and in limited action in New York that he is a great pass-catcher. Gase needs to try more of that in 2020.

Touches alone won’t help Bell’s efficiency, though, even though Gase alluded to it. The Jets need to switch up their personnel in order to flummox defenses – if that’s something Gase is truly worried about.

The Jets ran 11 personnel (one running back and one tight end) on 68.5 percent of their offensive snaps in 2019, according to Sharp Football Stats. That was the ninth-highest in the NFL. The Jets would do well to try some plays with at least two running backs in the backfield, something the 49ers used expertly in 2019, which helped their run to the Super Bowl.

San Franciso’s offense flourished in 2019 because it ran 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end) 42 percent of the time and led the NFL with 2,876 yards and 13 total touchdowns in that scheme. It will be tough for Gase to replicate that usage with a backfield that includes a 37-year-old Frank Gore and a rookie in La’Mical Perine, but the Jets can certainly increase their usage from the 3.5 percent they ran in 2019 in 21 personnel.

Gase also mentioned increasing the Jets’ number of offensive plays as a means to boost Bell’s production. Last season, the Jets averaged fewer than 60 plays per game. Gase wants that number to be closer to 65 or 70 plays per game, which would put the Jets in the top 10 in the league.

Would that equate to more production from Bell? Possibly. The opportunity would surely be there because the touches would likely increase. But that doesn’t mean much unless Bell can perform.

Gase wants more touches for Bell, but he did a poor job managing them in 2019, which led to a slow decline in production and snap share as the season progressed. Gase talked about ensuring Bell can play through the entire season, but the Jets used Bell less and less frequently toward the end of the season. If Gase can find a way to seamlessly blend better blocking with a nice mixture of offensive schemes around Bell, the touch management will work itself out well enough to where Bell could have a relatively productive season.

Bell seems excited about everything he’s seen from Gase, though. Despite rumors that the two had a bad relationship (there were reports Gase wasn’t happy former Jets GM Mike Maccagnan paid Bell $52 million and then that Joe Douglas wanted to trade Bell at the 2019 deadline), Bell said he loves working with his coach.

“I love Coach Gase,” Bell told reporters Wednesday. “Me and him never had any falling out or bad talks… We always moved in a positive direction. I think he’s a good leader for us. I think he can get it done.”

Bell has touted his physique this offseason –  much like he did for most of 2018 and the 2019 offseason – and has, on multiple occasions, prophesized a career-year for himself. He continued with that proclamation Wednesday.

“This has been the best I’ve felt and I’m ready to show it,” Bell said. “I’m ready to show this is the best Le’Veon Bell that’s ever played in the NFL.”

Now, it’s up to Gase to use the best Le’Veon Bell properly.