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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Tyler Greenawalt

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

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!

Should he stay or should he go?

With more money to work with, I’d like to keep some of our best players who are set to hit the open market. I’ve decided to re-sign a few of them to maintain a certain level of continuity and integrity at various spots on the roster:

OL Kelvin Beachum
OL Alex Lewis
OLB Brandon Copeland
CB Marcus Canaday
ILB Neville Hewitt
CB Arthur Maulet
P Lac Edwards

Notable non-re-signings:

WR Robby Anderson: He’ll command too much money for his production. We’ll find either cheaper or better options in free agency and the draft.
OLB Jordan Jenkins: The same applies to Jenkins, who is a solid player but will likely require more money than I’d like to pay for him.
CB Brian Poole: Again, too much money for a solid player. Poole fit in well as the slot corner in Williams’ defense, but we can find someone cheaper for that role.
RB Bilal Powell: It’s been a great run in New York for Powell, and we thank him for everything he’s done for the franchise, but it’s time for someone younger.

Extend Jamal Adams

As he revealed during Super Bowl week, we’ve begun contract negotiations on a long-term deal to keep Adams in New York. One of my biggest internal priorities this offseason is to lock him down for the foreseeable future.

He is the face of our franchise and, as a sign of good faith, we’ve offered to make him the highest-paid safety in terms of yearly average and guaranteed money. Ultimately, Adams accepted a six-year, $90 million contract with $35 guaranteed.

The Open Market

My plan in free agency is to solidify the weaker areas of our roster, especially offensive line, receiver, edge and cornerback. I’ve decided to sign these players to our roster:

WR Emmanuel Sanders: He fits Gase’s offensive scheme and he’s a more consistent producer than Anderson. His contract won’t be much different but we feel more comfortable giving Darnold a veteran receiver to work with alongside Crowder.
LG Brandon Scherff: We need talented veterans on our roster and he fits the mold of the type of player we need on the offensive line.
RG Joe Thuney: The same applies here, as Thuney will provide a sense of stability and durability along the offensive line that we haven’t seen in years.
CB Jalen Mills: I was part of the team that drafted Mills in 2016. He’s had a few down seasons but I trust our coaching staff to bring him back to form. He’ll fit in well with Trumaine Johnson, Bless Austin and the rest of the corners.
EDGE Vic Beasley: An incredibly talented player who needs a change of scenery. We believe Beasley can return to his Pro Bowl form as a great replacement for Jenkins.
DE Robert Quinn: This is the type of mauler at the line of scrimmage we’ve missed for years.
Other notable signings: RB Jordan Howard and QB Case Keenum give the team experienced, capable backups at two positions where such players are sorely needed.

Now we’re on the clock…

Going into the draft, I want to fortify the offensive line that we just upgraded in free agency. There are a few players I’m targeting with the 11th pick, and I feel like the rest of the board should play out to maximize our picks and give us a lot of great role players and potential starters. Here’s how my first draft as the Jets GM went: