Jets have important offseason ahead
The New York Jets are not a good football team. Hell, the Jets have been a bad team since the early days of Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez, when it actually seemed the duo could be destined for greatness. Now, one is unemployed and the other is s third-string backup on the Dallas Cowboys, but we digress.
The team they left behind holds the sixth-overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, having stumbled and bumbled its way to a 5-11 record. New York needs to get off the mat after watching the team start three different quarterbacks last year, not including its 2016 second-round pick in Christian Hackenberg, who never got a snap.
With such a high pick, there will be ample talk in Gotham about the draft. Should the Jets take yet another quarterback and perhaps select Mitch Tribusky, DeShone Kizer and Deshaun Watson? Or should general manager Mike Maccagnan go with a safer route and take a defensive stud in the person of Solomon Thomas, Jamal Adams or Jonathan Allen, should be slide?
Yet, before all that madness kicks off in late April, Maccagnan has all kinds of decisions ahead of him leading into free agency. The league year begins the first week of March, and every team has to be compliant with the salary cap by then. Right now, the Jets and Cowboys are the only two teams above the expected salary cap of approximately $170 million, meaning Maccagnan has to shed salary over the next six weeks or so.
If Jets fans were hoping for some good news, this is their paragraph. New York can release Ryan Clady and save $10 million, getting it back under the cap. Beyond that, Maccagnan can move on from Brandon Marshall and net $7.5 million, along with Nick Mangold, saving another $9.1 million. Another sure cut is inside linebacker David Harris, who would bring a return of $6.5 million.
At this point, the Jets have to launch a complete rebuild. Get younger across the board, which might also include the releasing of Darrelle Revis, who played like one of the worst corners in football last year. Revis could be cut at the savings of $7.3 million, although New York would have to eat $8 million in dead money.
Regardless, the time has come for Gang Green to strip this thing right down to the studs. New York has long been trying the patchwork method, but the team is old and the talent is far too minuscule.
One more year like the last one, and the Jets could be looking for a new combination at general manager and head coach to get this team turned back in the right direction.
