Kelvin Beachum's option wasn't picked up either. Think he will be better than Clady and cheaper. Lot of people thought Jacksonville should have picked it up.
Hard to justify keeping a player who has been unable to remain healthy for the past few seasons. 10 million cap saved which will come in handy. Also, possible Jets cut him but may sign him to a vet minimum. Wonder who the jets have in mind to play left tackle.
I think thats what they will do. Sign him back at or close to the vet minimum. That doesn't mean he will be their for sure starting LT it just means they have him on the roster just in case
Now Branden Albert is an intriguing prospect. Atleast there are some options. One of them and Bouye would really be nice additions.
That's certainly an option. Jags cut Beachum and the Dolphins cut Albert.... the left tackle free agency pool is going to be interesting because these are all high profile guys who have been cut at a high demand position. Jets need to make sure they don't overpay at this position, specifically if its for aging/diminishing talent.
Are you kidding? They're gonna HAVE to overpay to get one to come here. They have no choice. There is no plug and play LT in the draft. Mac didn't take one last year as he should have. They can't go into the season with Ijalana as the starter and no depth. It will be for a year or two. You might as well accept that fact and count your blessings if we're able to overpay one for a year or two. If Mac doesn't draft one high next year, he not only should be fired, but fired upon.
I agree, and expect to them to overpay to a certain degree, but, we have to ask why Albert, Beachum and Clady are all free agents to begin with. All aging, all have some baggage, Jets cannot throw the kitchen sink to sign one. Now, I understand that LT is a premium position and one of the most expensive, but I also don't want to get suckered into throwing one of these guys big money just so they can turn around in a year and be a big cap problem for us. Clady, when healthy last season, was ok. I saw him get beat a few times so I'm ok with just not even going after him. Not to mention his injury history and I feel like he is just not a left tackle Jets should heavily invest time or energy in. As for Beachum and Albert, I haven't watched them much so I need to watch some 2016 film to understand why they got cut. LT is a premium position and is very important but we cannot get suckered into overpaying just because its a premium position is all I'm saying. As for Macc, he did try like hell to jump up and get Tunsil so we can't forget that. Now, can you argue that he could have invested more draft capital, or high draft capital in the LT position, of course. Do I think he needs to overpay for an LT, I think it depends on a lot of factors, the roster, what holes are most pressing to fill. I agree that the O-line class is not good this year.
Like you, I haven't seen Beachum play at all, and I haven't seen Albert in a while. My guess as to why they're available is that their play is either subpar, the teams have some cap issues, and not many ways to gain relief, or all of those things. Further, I would guess that their teams have a young player on the roster that they think will give them a higher level of play than the guy they just released. Either that or they're planning to go all in on Whitworth or the guy from the Lions whose name escapes me at the moment. How can we not get suckered into overpaying? I understand you not wanting to. Neither do I, but as I see it, we have no choice. It IS a premium position, and regardless of who the QB is, the Jets have to have someone to protect his blind side. They can't just forfeit all 16 games or go into the season with 6 QBs. They're gonna have to overpay, and probably quite a bit in order to get even average or above average play at LT for a year or two. Why would someone want to come here and play for a crappy team that has a novice OC, two young QBs neither of whom have proven themselves, a CS that is likely to be gone by the end of the year, and in one of the most expensive areas to live in the country? IMO the only way the Jets will get them here is to overpay them by several million more than the next closest competitor, and even that may not be enough.
You raise several good points, I guess I just don't want the Jets to go all in on one position and then miss out on other good free agents because of them overpaying drastically for an aging, overrated LT talent. Also, side not, Albert was in fact NOT RELEASED, and the Dolphins and Jaguars are in talks for a possible trade.
Just goes to show how lucky the Jets were to not have to worry about the LT position for a decade. D'Brick's retirement was a killer. His play had dropped, but the guy never missed a game and in reality was still a solid player. You could say that by not preparing for his departure they put themselves in this position, but the spontaneity of his retirement has certainly created a mess.
Brick retired right after the Jets asked him to take a pay cut, so I'm not sure how spontaneous it was.
