Jets’ plans at quarterback are becoming increasingly clear
NEW YORK — Jets GM Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh haven’t quite tipped their hand for their plans at quarterback yet, but those plans are becoming increasingly clear.
Sam Darnold is on the block.
Trading for Deshaun Watson is unlikely.
Perhaps the clearest statement came from Douglas when he was asked a leading question about trading the Jets’ boatload of picks for a player. “Ultimately, for us to get where the great teams are, the most consistent teams are, you do that through the draft,” Douglas said. “It’s the most team-friendly market in sports. For us to be really that team that’s consistently competing for Super Bowls, we have to hit on our draft picks.”
Douglas didn’t mention Watson, but he’s the one player that the Jets could possibly grab in a trade, and what they have to give up in return are those precious draft picks.
Douglas and Saleh continued their effusive praise of Darnold, but that praise has always been paired with a refusal to commit to him as the team’s quarterback.
“He’s an extremely talented player, very smart, very tough. We have no doubt that Sam is going to achieve his outstanding potential,” Douglas said. The clear omission: where Darnold will achieve that potential. The GM basically confirmed a month-old ESPN report that the Jets are in trade discussions with other teams about Darnold. “I will answer the call if it’s made” from another team, he said. “Sam’s, we think, a dynamic player in this league with unbelievable talent who really has a chance to hit his outstanding potential. But if calls are made, I will answer ‘em.”
This all makes one option more likely: Drafting a QB in the first round.
Saleh and Douglas were speaking to media in lieu of making a normal appearance at the NFL combine, which was canceled this year because of the pandemic. As Douglas pointed out, last year there was a combine but no pro days, and the opposite is the case this year.
“It’s just good to stand next to a quarterback, to see the spin off his hand, to have the ball jump off his hand, to feel his presence. Those are all important things,” Douglas said. “There’s not gonna be as much private time with the player, there’s not gonna be dinners... there’s not gonna be classroom time.”
That means other than watching the draft class of quarterbacks throw, Douglas and Saleh will have to do the more qualitative evaluations over Zoom. With Trevor Lawrence a lock to go No. 1 overall to Jacksonville, they’ll likely be choosing between Zach Wilson of BYU, Justin Fields of Ohio State and Trey Lance of North Dakota State.
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Contract drama with the safety who is also the best player on a bad team? Is it 2020 again? Safety Marcus Maye, the team’s clear MVP last season, is a free agent, although the Jets could franchise tag him. Maye’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, tweeted that the Jets “refuse to take care of their best player, Captain, & team-voted MVP in his prime who had several All-Pro votes...and who played out his entire rookie deal and even changed positions on his contract year (after they got rid of last yrs All-Pro safety).”
“Our plan hasn’t changed — we’re in the process of working to have Marcus be here long term,” Douglas said Wednesday. When asked about Burkhardt’s tweet specifically, the GM shrugged it off. “I was made aware of some of those comments. Look, I have a lot of respect for Erik. I think he’s a great person, I’ve had a lot of great conversations with him and you guys know how I feel about Marcus. This is part of the business, this is part of negotiating. I don’t see this affecting our ability to get something done with Marcus that’s beneficial for both him and the team.”
Maye’s situation is slightly different than that of Jamal Adams, the All-Pro safety the team got rid of, as Burkhardt referenced. Adams was agitating for a well-earned raise on his rookie contract, and the Jets found a trade partner willing to enormously overpay for him. Maye is an unrestricted free agent, although in the NFL “unrestricted” means the player can still be franchise-tagged. For Maye, that would represent a huge bump for one year. He just finished a four-year, $6.5 million deal. Over The Cap projects that the 2021 franchise tag for safeties to come in around $11 million.
