The Aaron Rodgers window is one to two years. Do we really want to give up our best pass rusher for those years? The franchise tag for defensive ends is 20.2 M. It seems to me that a case can be made for giving the tag to Huff. The Jets should restructure every contract and make every cut possible to free up this money for doing this. We can keep our defense good just by resigning Jefferson and Clark. Resigning Zuerlein and Moreland is also obvious. Add a couple of free agents like Brisset and Tyler Boyd, and two major holes in the offense are filled prior to the draft. The draft could then basically be devoted to picking offensive linemen in every round, with a wide receiver or two added in as possible. Speaking of the draft, is a tag and trade scenario really out of the question if worse comes to worst? Will no team take a chance on a young (25 going on 26), ascending defensive end with a proven record as a pass rusher (10 sacks last year)? Let's say you're a GM of a team with championship aspirations but in need of another edge rusher. Are you sure to find another pass rusher in the 2nd round who can provide the proven pass rush ability and performance that Huff can? Wouldn't you make that deal of a 2nd round pick for the right to negotiate a long-term deal with Huff, who will provide immediate performance? Anyway, these are the thoughts that occur to me when I get disgusted with the idea of letting Huff walk away for nothing! Let's not be the SOJ!
The hell you say, Brissett isn't touching this god awful shit ridden clown show with a 100 mile pole! You mean when we resign someone like Siemian...and that's ONLY IF he actually wants to stay. I have no doubt that our FO will fuck this offseason up about as bad as you can. Besides, has Rodgers signed off on something like that? You know good and well he isn't authorizing anyone of Brissett's caliber to come into this organization. To address the direct line of discussion, Huff isn't dumb enough to stay and we don't have the $$$ to tag anyone. He's a young and upcoming talent that will go somewhere else where his "investment" will be appreciated by his offensive teammates.
Can you be any more negative mez? Lol wow. Money talks, and 7-10 isn't the worst record in the world, especially with a bust backup all season. The defense is elite, and the line is when healthy at least decent, and with adding 1 or 2 guys in the off season, it will be shored up. Conklin is an above average te. Wilson is a bona-fide #1. We aren't far away from being a great team. You're acting like we've been winning 2 games every season. Sent from my genius mind.
We can't have 1 pass rusher making top 10 salary average and also have 7 other pass rushers rotating with him. And we know by now that Saleh is as flexible as a chunk of granite.
How about if JFM is one of the cuts? I love him, but he's not worth what he's making, and we can't afford to lose our best pass rusher to keep him. This leaves Johnson and Huff as the starting defensive ends, with McDonald and Clemons rotating in as reserves.
That's a possibility. I had thought of that earlier, but with Lawson also going the risk is that the Jets go from being very deep and strong at Edge to less strong and not nearly as deep. Huff may not want to stay anyway. If we cut JFM and then couldn't come to terms with Huff, JD would really look stupid. If he does that, he'd better make sure that Huff will re-sign and already have agreed on a new deal. The other thing is that JFM has provided a lot of pressure on opposing QBs and along with JJ are our two best edge defenders against the run. I doubt that Saleh would be on board with that move, but it's definitely an option.
I'm more worried that the lesson Saleh learned from watching the super bowl was that he needs another 1st round edge rusher on the Jets to get to the next level.
Right now our cap space is 5 million, which is next to nothing. We'll surely free up more space, but that will likely cost us at other positions. I like Huff but he simply isn't worth 20 million in our current position. We've picked a 1st round edge two years in a row and now its time to rely on them. Its really the best solution for where we are. We're all in on Rodgers so we need the cash for the o-line.
My view is that Huff may not be worth 20.2 M, but if he's franchise tagged, he becomes a tradable asset. I bet that some team would think he's worth a 2nd round pick to put themselves in the position to negotiate a reasonable long-term contract with him. On the other hand, Huff would not be able to negotiate with other teams, but the Jets can withdraw the tag at any time another team makes an offer: "Each of the different tags (non-exclusive, exclusive, transition) can be withdrawn by the team at any time before the player signs it. However, the tenders are guaranteed for skill, cap and injury once signed. A player must sign his tender to be traded to another team." So if Huff wants a long-term contract, the best thing for him to do if tagged would be to refuse to sign the franchise tag contract and ask to be traded. At that point, other teams needing a good pass rushing end will compete for his services and offer compensation to the Jets. If Huff decides to sign the franchise tag contract to stay with the Jets, the Jets would be on the hook for the 20.2 M. But my guess is that it would not come to that. He could just sign the tender as part of a trade to another team.
Your all in approach is pretty much exactly what they're going to do. They don't have a lot of space, so they are going to end up restructuring some guys and pushing their money back a few years, cutting other guys, and overpaying for mid-level free agents. Very doubtful they will get any premium free agents to come in here, they will only get decent free agents at a higher price then they'd be able to get on other teams. That's the corner the Jets have painted themselves into. We are going to have a lot of dead cap space over the next few years, as well as a lot of players we can't get rid of and probably (definitely) will want to. It is an all out effort to win this year at the expense of the future. When sports teams talk about mortgaging in the future, this is exactly what they mean.
It’s just not good team building to sacrifice that much money that has to hit the books in 2024 by itself when we have a disaster in front of our QB.
Realistically, I have to agree that the Jets have painted themselves into a corner. They are going to be all in to at least try to have a winning season with AR. I also have to agree that they will not have a lot of money for free agency, and that the 2024 Jets are just about the last place that really good free agents are going to go. Does this mean we have to overpay mediocre free agents? That's probably what the Jets are going to do again, no matter what we think. Certainly, shoring up the O line is THE priority. But the idea of again giving a last big paycheck to broken-down old men (e.g., Bakhtiari will last until maybe the second day of training camp) makes me want to retch (and I say this as a broken-down old man myself). JD doesn't seem to realize during free agency that football is a young man's game. I've always believed in building through the draft, but that possibility seems to have gone out the window with AR's signing. The idea of losing one of their best young players for nothing in this context is a little much for me to take.
I agree, but that's risky. The Jets could wind up having to pay Huff $20.2 milion and then would probably have to cut some players that they wanted ot keep or wouldn't be able to sign any OL in FA, except more cheap, lesser, and older players. Huff is one of our better players, I really don't want to see him go, but the Jets may have to. I'd like to see them get more than a 3rd round compensatory pick for him, but they may not.
Just sign him to a decent deal and trade or cut JFM he’s overrated. A few other moves and we can free 40m that’s not the hard part
I've come to think his walking in free agency is almost inevitable. With Will McDonald drafted to be what he already is and set to make a fraction of the money Huff will command, I don't see a way around it. You could cut JFM, but he's a good player and run defender albeit a bit overpaid. I think that would also be a big loss. Huff's ascension and development into almost an every down player may have been a surprise to the coaching staff, but he was already an elite pass rusher in 22' with JFM and Jermaine Johnson on the roster. He was the perfect compliment. I do still think Will McDonald will be a good player, but what a poor decision by JD. That 15 pick, right now, looks like a lateral move at best. Saves some money and you just hope WMcD becomes what Huff already is. Really poor roster management. I predict Huff gets paid by Washington or Atlanta
Huff has already openly said he wants to go somewhere that he wouldn’t be in a rotation. We drafted Edge 1st round the last 2 years. Huff is gone, and I doubt they play games trying to tag him. Bryce Huff was a very good role player as a pass rusher in obvious passing situations. No one is giving up major picks for that, maybe a 4th. But if we tender him and get no offers we’re stuck paying him top 5 DE money, not very smart.
You guys have made reasonable comments. For me, it all comes down to what is Huff's ceiling. If his ceiling is as a part-time situational rusher (as he was used by the Jets), franchising him would be really stupid. On the other hand, if his ceiling is to learn to play the run better and deliver 10-15 sacks a year playing full time, we'll regret that we did not tag and trade him for a high pick.
this is why we won't keep him - you don't pay a situational pass rusher 20MM. We drafted his replacement last year - we should just move on. I agree that a tag and trade isn't going to get any traction. We had a 2nd round tender on him last year I believe and there was nothing - why would we expect someone to trade a 2nd and pay him this year?
