Ex-Lions LB Jarrad Davis to sign with Jets

The Jets are adding former Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis on a one-year deal.

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The Jets have made their first move of free agency.

New York is in agreement with former Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis, according to multiple reports. Davis will sign a one-year deal worth $7 million.

As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport mentioned, teams felt Davis wasn’t properly utilized in Detroit. The former first-round pick will now get a chance to prove himself as a 4-3 linebacker in Robert Saleh’s defensive scheme.

Davis fell out of favor in Detroit this past season. He made only four starts, playing in just 29% of the Lions’ defensive snaps. Davis’ best season came in 2018, prior to former Lions head coach Matt Patricia’s arrival in Detroit. The former first-round pick recorded 100 total tackles, six sacks, five pass breakups and 10 quarterback hits in 16 starts.

For his career, Davis has 10.5 sacks, 305 combined tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 23 quarterback hits and seven forced fumbles.

Davis’ deal with New York can’t become official until the new league year begins on March 17 at 4 p.m. ET.

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Jets free agent profile: What to do with LB Albert McClellan?

Here’s how the Jets should approach Albert’s McClellan’s free agent 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.

Albert McClellan was signed by the Jets in the middle of August before being released during cuts. The Jets did re-sign him the next day, though. McClellan’s season was cut short after he suffered a concussion and was placed on injured reserve. So the Jets didn’t get to see a whole lot of tape on him. Let’s evaluate McClellan’s free agent situation in another edition of Jets Wire’s free agent profile.

Pros of keeping him

The Jets signed McClellan to be a depth piece after the team lost Avery Williamson for the season to a torn ACL. He was immediately thrown into the fire at the beginning of the regular season after the Jets lost C.J. Mosley as well. McClellan didn’t make much of an impact though, only recording five total tackles in five games.

The 33-year-old is an NFL veteran with some starting experience, so if the Jets want to have depth in case any of their inside linebackers go down again, then bringing back McClellan wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Cons of keeping him

At this point in his career, McClellan is not an every-down starter. He hasn’t been for a few years. If the Jets are in a situation where they need him to start, can he handle it? The answer to that question is unknown, but at 33 years old the odds don’t lean in his favor.

Since the Jets do need to get younger, it wouldn’t make much sense to bring McClellan back for another season.

The verdict

Given McClellan’s age and the fact that he’s coming off a concussion, he isn’t likely to be retained by Gang Green. The Jets showed last season that they had enough linebacker depth without McClellan in the fold.

Douglas doesn’t need to do that much in the offseason with inside linebackers. They’ll get Mosley and Blake Cashman back from injuries. They have a decision to make on Avery Williamson and they’ll likely want Neville Hewitt and James Burgess back, too.

All in all, McClellan will be likely one and done with the Jets.

NFL Free Agency: Which Jets will hit the open market this offseason?

The Jets will have a long list of free agents to sort through this offseason.

Just as the Jets knew no shortage of injuries in 2019, the same can be said for their list of soon-to-be free agents this upcoming offseason.

The future of New York’s roster is unclear after the Jets finished the 2019 season 7-9. While they have determined their franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold, there are still more holes than certainties on Gang Green’s 53-man roster. The team has question marks on both lines, at corner and on the edge, just to name a few.

Now, the Jets will be forced to sift through a long list of their own free agents in the offseason. While some will likely be part of Joe Douglas’ vision for the future, others will be forced to find employment elsewhere.

Here are all of the Jets set to be free agents in 2020:

  1. Ryan Kalil, C – 35 – UFA
  2. Kelvin Beachum, LT – 30 – UFA
  3. Robby Anderson, WR – 27 – UFA
  4. Brian Poole, CB – 27 – UFA
  5. Demaryius Thomas, WR – 32 – UFA
  6. Trevor Siemian, QB – 28 – UFA
  7. Rontez Miles, FS – 31 – UFA
  8. Brandon Copeland, DE – 29 – UFA
  9. Tom Compton, G – 31 – UFA
  10. Neville Hewitt, ILB – 27 – UFA
  11. Brent Qvale, RT – 29 – UFA
  12. Bilal Powell, RB – 31 – UFA
  13. Daniel Brown, TE – 28 – UFA
  14. Ty Montgomery, RB – 27 – UFA
  15. Albert McClellan, ILB – 34 – UFA
  16. David Fales, QB – 29 – UFA
  17. Paul Worrilow, OLB – 30 – UFA
  18. Jordan Jenkins, OLB – 26 – UFA
  19. Matthias Farley, SS – 28 – UFA
  20. Maurice Canady, CB – 26 – UFA
  21. Alex Lewis, G – 26 – UFA
  22. James Burgess, ILB – 26 – RFA
  23. Arthur Maulet, CB – 27 – RFA
  24. Leo Koloamatangi, T – 26 – RFA
  25. B.J. Bello, ILB – 25 – RFA
  26. Josh Malone, WR – 24 – RFA
  27. Brandon Shell, T – 28 – UFA
  28. Lac Edwards, P – 28 – UFA
  29. Frankie Luvu, LB – 23 – ERFA
  30. Sam Ficken, K – 27 – ERFA
  31. Bennett Jackson, CB  – 28 – ERFA
  32. Jeff Smith, WR – 23 – ERFA