I know what Owusu's skillsets are, but he has never put it together in a consistent package. Kerley has been a solid receiver that runs clean crisp routes and has good hands. There is no way that there isn't any role for Kerley in this offense, that's ridiculous.
I would agree with that, but my only question is, what happened with Kerley last year? He looked uninterested most of the time, did not make an effort to catch a bunch of balls, had uncharacteristic drops and disappeared for long stretches of games and for while games at a time. Something was off about him last year, and he's one of my favorite Jets. _
Just not looking good for Kerley. He isn't getting reps on offense. His production fell off last season, and the drops. I still think he has value, but I'm not sure if he has a 'starting' spot on this team. Coaching staff has given nod to Smith and when Smith went down Owusu got the nod. Kerley has to make some noise or he is headed else where. Kerley was that one bright spot on so many bad offensive Jets teams. People keep saying Owusu is more valued in the blocking scheme, just bigger more physical, younger player. Love Kerley for depth, but I do think he is a starter somewhere. Players not playing enter twilight quicker. Kerley must know he needs to be on the field as time is ticking by. It might be over for him here...
Owusu is only 25 and raw. He spent most of his college injured and made his way onto an NFL roster on pure athleticism. After a few years of polishing, you're seeing the final product. I do like Kerley and think he'll have more of a role as the season goes on, but Owusu has significantly more upside. Not sure why people want to trade him though. For the first time in years we have some depth at WR, why do we want to rush quality backups out of the building so quickly? Look at all the injuries we've sustained so far this season, the deeper we are at WR the better.
I get all that but until Owusu puts together a solid season I can't say that he's better than Kerley.
I think part of the problem Kerley has is that he may fit with a team like the Pats but there is no way we trade him to a divisional rival. So this means he either finds a fit on the Jets, or likely gets released. Depending on the time of year even a team that might want him, like the Pats, may not have the roster room. They could be carrying other players to cover for banged up positions and so on, so Kerley really needs to try and make an impression now before he loses an entire season and risks falling out of the league..... for now he needs to forget the starting crap. Just play well.
Do these people (Geno, Kerley and a host of others from other teams) really think it helps their cause to bring their gripes to the media?
New regimes have different players they like and don't like. Gailey simply doesn't see Kerley as a good fit in the type of offense he wants to run. He's a nice slot player, but replaceable.
But, here's the problem: The coaches are going to play the guys they think compliment Decker and Marshall the best. Unfortunately for Kerley, I think the coaches will often be looking for deep threats like Owsusu and Smith (when he is healthy) who can clear out coverage for Marshal and/or Decker. I definitely agree that Kerley should have a roll in this group of WRs, but I also don't think he is a starter. And obviously, chances are that not all of those guys are going to be healthy all season long. Kerley is definitely going to get his chances.
So because we have a starting caliber WR on the team as depth, we should cut him because it's not right by him? Cmon.
Well that's the thing, we won't know until he plays a full season. He obviously did enough in camp to gain the trust of the coaching staff and put up pretty good numbers in his first game.
