The 5 biggest free agent successes in Jets history

The Jets Wire takes a look at the five biggest free agent successes in New York Jets’ franchise history.

The Jets have been known for making poor decisions and having free agency decisions blow up in their face. Still, New York deserves credit for its good free agent signings over the years.

Whether it was signing an undrafted free agent that turned into a consistent starter or signing a player who would eventually build a Hall of Fame career with the team, these moves go down as some of the most successful in franchise history.

With that being said and free agency right around the corner, here are five of New York’s biggest free-agent successes.

Curtis Martin

Not only is Curtis Martin the greatest free agent signing in franchise history, but he is one of the best players to ever play for the Jets.

Martin inked a six-year, $36 million contract with the Jets back in 1998. He was one of the best players at his position at the time. He was acquired when the Bill Parcells-led Jets signed him away from the Patriots, sending New England two draft choices in return.

Martin rushed for a franchise-high 10,302 yards and 58 touchdowns in 123 career starts for the Jets. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012 and was a two-time first-team All-Pro with the Jets in 2001 and 2004.

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The 5 biggest free agent busts in Jets history

Jets Wire breaks down the five biggest busts in Jets history.

The Jets have earned some notoriety for their poor decisions in the NFL draft over the years, but some of the moves the team has made in free agency aren’t much better.

Whether it was a signing that did not work out due to injury or simply underwhelming play, these moves go down as some of the worst in franchise history. With that being said and free agency right around the corner, here are five of New York’s biggest free agent busts.

Trumaine Johnson

When the Jets inked Trumaine Johnson to a massive five-year, $72.5 million contract in March 2018, they thought they were getting a top-flight corner entering his prime.

Instead, Johnson has been a massive disappointment. He was benched in the middle of last season before landing on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury in November. Johnson was not much better in his first season with the team, struggling to keep up with receivers who shouldn’t have had any chance to beat him down the field.

After only two seasons with New York, Johnson is likely headed out the door. All things considered, he could go down as the biggest free agency bust in franchise history when it’s all said and done.

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Former Jets GM used hunting, fishing to bring Brett Favre to New York

Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum convinced Brett Favre to play for the Jets after telling him to go fishing and hunting.

With the NFL offseason underway, player movement is around the corner. As that process unfolds, details as to how teams courted their top targets are sure to emerge.

Sometimes, that just means fancy visits, lengthy talks and offering the most money. But, often teams go the extra mile to get their guy. That was the case with the Jets in 2008 when they convinced Brett Favre to come out of retirement and play for them.

After Favre came out of retirement, he and the Packers talked about a possible return. However, they ultimately agreed that it was time to part ways, but Green Bay wasn’t going to just release the Hall of Fame quarterback. So they put him on the trade market and received calls from the Buccaneers and Jets, among other teams. Of course, there was no guarantee Favre would play for just any team he was traded to.

Jon Gruden was the coach of the Bucs and was once Favre’s offensive coordinator in Green Bay. Gruden told Favre that Tampa Bay wasn’t a far flight from his hometown in Mississippi and that New York City wouldn’t fit his lifestyle.

That led former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum to take a deep dive into Favre’s hobbies. The exec assured the gunslinger that he would still be able to do some of his favorite outdoor activities.

“We’re going to make it mandatory on Monday afternoon and Tuesday hunt and fish at our owner’s farm 20 minutes away,” Tannenbaum, now with ESPN, said on Get Up. “He didn’t believe us; we actually sent Google satellite imaging of the farms.”

.@espngreeny and I discussed Tom Brady and Brett Favre going to the @Nyjets on @getupespn. pic.twitter.com/a4LgkMzZR8

— Mike Tannenbaum (@RealTannenbaum) February 7, 2020

Once Favre heard those words, he approved a trade to the Jets. New York sent the Packers a mid-round pick in exchange.

Luckily for the Jets, they moved their training facility from Long Island to North Jersey that season. It was more of a rural area than urban, so it had plenty of spots for Favre to fish and hunt.

In Favre’s only season with the Jets, he led them to a 9-7 record, but they missed the playoffs. It was Eric Mangini’s last season as head coach.

If it wasn’t for Tannenbaum’s clever convincing, Favre may have never been a Jet. Make what you will of the quarterback’s lone season with Gang Green, but you have to give Tannenbaum credit for getting creative.

The Perfect Offseason: Here’s how Joe Douglas, Jets should hope things go in coming months

Joe Douglas has a lot of work to do this offseason. Here’s how he can fix the Jets.

The Jets need fixing. That has been apparent for a few years, but especially after a disappointing 2019 season in which they failed to reach the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season. The 2020 offseason marks an important stretch for the franchise, as general manager Joe Douglas gets his first crack at building the team his way.

Have you ever seen “Freaky Friday,” the 2003 comedy starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan? Or perhaps you’ve heard the song, “Freaky Friday,” with rappers Lil Dicky and Chris Brown? Either way, I’m about to body swap with Douglas and construct what is — in my opinion — the correct course for the Jets to set this offseason. I’ll break down everything from free agency all the way to the draft.

I’ll close my eyes as Tyler Greenawalt and open them up as Joe Douglas. (Fortunately for the GM, he doesn’t need to assume my responsibilities for the day… anyway, here we go.)

Editor’s Note: OverTheCap.com’s salary cap calculator and FanSpeak.com’s mock draft simulator were used for this piece. Cap and contract numbers are estimations.

(Steven Ryan-AP)

The first cuts are the deepest

I need to maximize my cap space this offseason. Right now, I have $49,693,190 to work with against the cap. That’s not enough money to do what I need to do to fix this roster. There are too many holes that need filling and a couple of players signed by the previous regime are making too much money.

I’ve decided to cut the following players:

ILB Avery Williamson: $6.5 million in cap savings
RG Brian Winters: $7.28 million in cap savings
CB Darryl Roberts: $6 million in cap savings
WR Quincy Enunwa: $2.4 million in cap savings
CB Nate Hairston: $2.14 million in cap savings
Various low-level cuts: $8.92 million in cap savings

Notable non-cuts:

CB Trumaine Johnson: This won’t be popular, but $3 million in cap relief isn’t enough to get rid of him. He is still talented and we’ll lean on Gregg Williams to try and maximize his ability at a position where we’re awfully thin as is.
DT Steve McClendon: We just signed Steve to an extension because we value his veteran presence – both on the field and in the locker room. His expertise will help the young linemen around him, especially Quinnen Williams.

Cap space after cuts: $83,829,696

Alright, let the spending begin!

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No, Tom Brady is not coming to the Jets

Oddshark’s latest odds on where Tom Brady will play in 2020 dispell the crazy notion that he will sign with the Jets this offseason.

The Jets and their fans are no strangers to ridiculous ideas being tossed around, but the notion that Tom Brady is going to join the team this offseason takes the cake as the most ridiculous of all.

Brady’s contract with the Patriots is up and it remains to be seen if he will remain in New England following its early playoff exit last season. The Raiders, Chargers and Panthers have been linked to the legendary signal caller and all three teams have legitimate reasons to be considered contenders for Brady’s services.

The Jets? Not so much.

Oddshark’s latest “Where Will Tom Brady Play in 2020” odds reflect this. New York is +2500 to land Brady, making it the 15th most-likely team to sign the 42-year-old in free agency.

With Sam Darnold entrenched as the Jets’ future under center, there is absolutely no reason why Brady donning the green and white at any point in the near future should be given any consideration. New York is all in with Darnold, even if it’s not 100 percent certain he is the guy who will lead Gang Green to the promised land just yet.

Going with a veteran quarterback on his last legs in favor of a young, promising passer goes against everything first-year general manager Joe Douglas is trying to build at One Jets Drive. Yes, New York could be in a position to contend with the addition of a couple of more pieces in free agency, but Douglas is trying to get younger across the board. He wants to build the foundation of this team through the draft and around young talent like Darnold.

The Jets shouldn’t bother entertaining the idea of bringing Brady on board. It’s safe to assume Douglas and company have not given this ludicrous idea any thought. As good as Brady is, he is not a fit with the organization at this point in his career. Besides, he would want to go to more of a surefire contender if he’s going to leave New England.

If this conversation was being had a decade ago, the Jets would probably be clearing salary cap space to bring Brady to the Big Apple as we speak. That is not the reality we live in, though. Darnold is the quarterback the Jets are going to ride or die with. Not a 42-year-old who is on his last legs in the league.

Despite struggles, Jets’ attendance ranked surprisingly high in 2019

The New York Jets were second best in the NFL in average home attendance in 2019.

Despite an otherwise disappointing 7-9 season, fans still showed up to MetLife Stadium to watch the Jets in 2019.

According to NBC Sports, the Jets were second in the NFL in average home attendance this past season. They averaged 78,523 fans per game. The only team ahead of them was the Dallas Cowboys (90,929).

Following the Jets were the Packers (77,845), Broncos (75,937) and Giants (74,664).

Not to knock the Gang Green faithful, which has tolerated decades of mediocrity, but chances are the Jets had a lot of help from opposing fans. The Jets played three of the most popular teams in America at home last season: the Cowboys, Raiders and Steelers. With established rivalries and close proximity, it’s safe to assume Patriots and Giants showed up in droves as well.

While the Jets may be happy about their attendance this season, they should recognize a lot of the fans in the stadium were not their own. A good team would change that in 2020.

Ryan Griffin eager to team up with Chris Herndon in 2020

Jets tight end Ryan Griffin is looking forward to teaming up with Chris Herndon next season.

The Jets were never at full strength at the tight end position in 2019, but Ryan Griffin believes big things await him and Chris Herndon next season.

The Jets didn’t get to see much of the duo last season. They only played in one game together in 2019, which came in Week 10 of the regular season. As both players battle back from injuries, Griffin is eager to see what New York’s offense could do with both of them in the lineup.

“I’m excited for Chris to get back,” Griffin told the team’s website. “He’s very versatile and can do a lot of things very well in this league, and he’s a young kid. I’m looking forward to him getting a full season under his belt and under the system as well. When we’re both out there I think it opens up the playbook that much more for Coach Gase. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this offense can do with everybody healthy and no nagging injuries, no sicknesses, no illnesses with everybody on the same page.”

Griffin was signed late last offseason after Herndon received a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance of abuse policy. Griffin played in 13 games, making 34 catches for 320 yards and five touchdowns.

The Jets rewarded Griffin’s strong season with a three-year extension worth $10.8 million with $4 million guaranteed, but his season ended prematurely after he went down with an ankle injury and was placed on injured reserve.

Herndon, meanwhile, pulled a hamstring that caused him to miss an additional four games following his suspension. Then, in his first game back against the Giants, Herndon broke his rib and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Sam Darnold had great chemistry with Herndon in his rookie season and with Griffin this past season. Darnold more than anybody would like to see what this offense can do when both are healthy. If the two can produce the way they have in their limited time with the Jets, then this could be a lethal duo at tight end.

A handful of ex-Jets are preparing for their XFL debuts

The Jets Wire takes a look at every former Jets player in the XFL and which are the five most notable players.

With the NFL season coming to a close, the revamped XFL is starting this weekend.

There are several former Jets involved in this new league, which has eight teams with rosters consisting of 52 players each. Not many players have extensive ties to Gang Green, nor did they have long stays in New York.

Here is a complete list of every former Jets player in the XFL:

Alex Balducci, Brandon Barnes, T.J. Barnes, William Campbell, Jeremy Clark, Stacy Coley, Kony Ealy, Obum Gwacham, De’Angelo Henderson, Darius James, Anthony Johnson, Taiwan Jones, Tre McBride, Robert Nelson, Nick Novak, Santos Ramirez, David Rivers, Edmond Robinson, Jalen Saunders, Jake Schum, Jacquies Smith, Shamarko Thomas, Jon Toth and DeAngelo Yancey

With that said, let’s take a look at the five most notable ex-Jets in the XFL.

DE Kony Ealy: Houston Renegades

The Jets claimed Kony Ealy off waivers from the Patriots in 2017 after New England traded a second-round pick to Carolina for his services.

In 15 games played for Gang Green, Ealy recorded 11 total tackles, one sack, nine passes defended and an interception. He left the Jets in free agency for the Cowboys but was cut before the season. Ealy spent time with Oakland before landing in the XFL.

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What items are on Joe Douglas’ offseason to-do list?

Joe Douglas has a lot to work to do in his first offseason as general manager – from fixing the o-line to find a quality pass rusher.

Let’s no sugarcoat it: This is an important offseason for the Jets. Joe Douglas will finally be able to make wide-sweeping changes in his quest to build a contender, and the right moves could signal a shift for the downtrodden franchise.

The roster needs fixing, there’s no denying it. From the offensive line to the secondary to the pass rush, the Jets need help at various positions. It is crucial for Douglas to identify and prioritize which problems need resolving first, how to solve them and then executing that plan.

Here is Jets Wire’s to-do for Douglas heading into his first offseason as the Jets’ general manager.

Decide on in-house free agents

The Jets have 32 players set to hit free agency this summer, including a couple of key 2019 contributors. Wide receiver Robby Anderson, cornerback Brian Poole, left tackle Kelvin Beachum and outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins are the four biggest names Douglas will need to decide on quickly. All four will command different contracts, but Douglas could keep them all as he begins to reconstruct the roster in his image.

Anderson is obviously the biggest name given his position, production, price and connection to Sam Darnold. Anderson said he believes the Jets want to keep him, but he also wants to test the open market. Once Douglas figures out what to do with his current free agents, he’ll understand the gaps across the roster and can plan for the rest of free agency and the draft.

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Jamison Crowder working out with Daniel Jones, Giants receivers at Duke

Jamison Crowder is working out with Daniel Jones, Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton at Duke.

Jamison Crowder is getting a little work in with the Jets’ MetLife Stadium roommates.

According to The Record’s Art Stapleton, Crowder joined Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton for some offseason workouts at Duke University. Both Crowder and Jones are Duke alumni.

Crowder is from Monroe, North Carolina, which is two and a half hours from Duke. So this doesn’t have to do as much with the Giants players at the university, but rather Crowder being closer to home.

Crowder played at Duke from 2011-2014. He recorded 3,641 receiving yards in his college career to go with 23 touchdowns. Crowder was also used a lot on special teams as a returner. He had 65 returns for 869 yards and five touchdowns for the Blue Devils.

The 26-year-old just finished his first season with the Jets after spending the first four years of his career with Washington. In his first year in New York, Crowder had 76 catches for 833 yards and six touchdowns.

The chemistry between him and Sam Darnold was great throughout the season. Crowder acted as Darnold’s safety net and was regularly able to find open holes in the middle of the field.

The hope is that chemistry between Crowder and Darnold can continue into next season and evolve over the next couple of seasons. But for now, Crowder will get his work in at Duke with some Giants players.