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.
Neil O’Donnell
Ever since legendary Jets quarterback Joe Namath retired, the Jets have been searching for a franchise quarterback to lead the team to the promised land. They once thought they had their guy in Neil O’Donnell.
O’Donnell inked a five-year, $25 million deal with the Jets in 1996, a year after leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl.
The Jets figured that they would be getting a quarterback in his prime, as O’Donnell was only 29 years old when he signed. Instead, they got a quarterback in decline.
O’Donnell lost every game he started in 1996 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. He wasn’t much better playing for Bill Parcells in 1997 and was released after only throwing 21 touchdown passes in two years with the team.
Darrelle Revis
Darrelle Revis’ return to the Big Apple in 2015 had all the makings of a feel-good story.
The dominant corner was back with the team that he started his career with, signing a five-year, $70 million deal a year after winning a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. The only problem was, Revis was far from dominant anymore. In fact, he was terrible.
Revis’ decline started in the latter part of the 2015 season, with a Week 17 game in which Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins torched him all day long. In retrospect, it was as the beginning of the end.
Revis couldn’t cover anyone in 2016 and was released at the conclusion of the season. He caught on with the Chiefs the following season, but only lasted one season with Kansas City before retiring.
Sam Cowart
Sam Cowart is another case of the Jets signing a player who they thought was in the prime of his career but was on the downfall instead.
Going into 2001, Cowart was highly regarded as a member of the Buffalo Bills and was even mentioned as one of the best linebackers in the game alongside Hall of Famer Ray Lewis. Unfortunately for Cowart, a torn Achilles tendon in the season opener brought an end to his 2001 season. He was never the same player after that.
Cowart would go on to sign a six-year, $31 million deal with the Jets that offseason, but he only played three years in New York before being released.
Derrick Mason
Remember when the Jets thought it was a good idea to replace 28-year-old Jerricho Cotchery with 37-year-old Derrick Mason?
On the surface, signing Mason and letting Cotchery go made sense. The veteran wideout caught 61 passes for 802 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010. Cotchery, meanwhile, saw his production dip to a mere 41 receptions for 433 yards.
Things didn’t exactly pan out for Mason in New York, though. After signing a two-year deal with the Jets, Mason was traded five games into the 2011 season in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick.
Mason was supposed to be a reliable slot receiver that could help Mark Sanchez take his game to the next level. Instead, he contributed essentially nothing. His contract was not the biggest, but his lack of production considering the expectations that followed him to the Big Apple land him on this list.
