He sounds frustrated, as if the FO is not doing anything or not enough to get a deal done. Hopefully we'll have something worked out ASAP. He's been nothing but class off the field and a star on the field. http://nypost.com/2015/06/06/jets-wilkerson-hopeful-about-deal-but-warns-its-a-business/
It makes sense to not do a deal until next year since we have him under contract. It would be nice to stop stressing about it, and get the deal done now though. I wonder how much the FO has offered him..
No it doesn't make sense. They went out and paid mercenary Revis and a bunch of other free agents now take care of your own. Do the right thing pay the man! He's earned it.
They couldn't afford to do both and put a good team on the field in 2015 and 2016. The ideal situation for them at this point is just paying Mo the option salary this year and being in position to make a decision at the end of the year based on what the season looked like. Overall it's not clear that was ideal but you have to honor the Revis and Williams decisions. They've been made. Treating Mo's contract talks in a vacuum when you're already paying a defensive player $33M over the next 2 seasons and have a great prospect at his position under contract at a cheap rate for 5 more seasons just isn't rational. Then you have a second great player at the same position and it becomes clear that it's going to take a miracle to retain Mo. A miracle that doesn't involve paying him $70 million over 5 years with more than half of it guaranteed. My guess would be that Mo plays for the Jets this year and if he has his typical season they trade him before the draft next year. They might or might not get a 1st round pick in that situation but they'll certainly get a better pick than they'd have gotten as free agent compensation.
Honestly, if I were him, I would do the same thing Revis did, hold out. At this point, if he gets injured he will have nothing to show for his hard work at becoming a top 5 DE in the NFL. Time for MO to treat it like a business also. They can give Brandon Marshall a raise, overpay Revis, but they want to pinch pennies with Mo? Franchise him, pay him the average and move on. This team baffles me.
The guys we brought in weren't under contract. Mo still is for another year, and could be franchised into a 2nd. I'm just trying to see both sides of the fence here. I think the best thing to do would be sign him long term, and convert his salary for 2015 into the signing bonus to stay under the cap. Don't the pats pull that shit all the time?
Steelers have done this throughout the decade. Patriots have also, especially with Brady's contract. http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...ry/2015/2/28/8124637/steelers-salary-cap-2015
Would be very stupid for him to hold out because he's in a contract year. Holdouts will typically hurt a player's production, and that's the last thing a player wants when he's about to get a long term deal. I love Mo, but unfortunately for him the Jets have all the leverage. They're waiting to see how Leonard Williams, Sheldon Richardson, and Mo look on the field in Bowles defense, and then they're going to keep two of them. It's a business at the end of the day, and let's not all feel sorry fod Mo just yet, he is making 7 mil this year and he WILL be getting paid soon, whether its by the Jets or someone else.
It ain't cheating, it's trickery I believe. You look at the Saints cap situation over the past 3 years, it's remarkable how they kept Brees (100m), signed Jairus Byrd (50m) and RESIGNED Cameron Jordan (50m). Mo and Sheldon are better than both Byrd and Jordan. It's a dangerous game, but if it can keep you in contention well it can pay off.
A signing bonus should never affect cap tho imo. Saying it's trickery is pretty much like saying it's a low thing to do no?
Unfortunate situation,. With all the remarks by Mo, I say his agent advises him to skip the Mandatory's. It's a business, and now it's time to play hardball...
I think it will come down to two things...Williams and Geno. If Geno looks good this year and Williams doesn't, then I see them signing Mo easily next year. If Williams looks good and Geno doesn't, they might use Mo as trade material for a QB (whether that be trading for a QB or draft spot). If they both look good, then you might see them trade Mo to handle other needs. If they both look bad, I would think they would have keep Mo. No matter what, I wouldn't expect the Jets to do anything until after this season is over.
I wouldn't call it a "low thing to do"...it is just a loophole that some teams are taking advantage of. Kind of reminds me of the seat "donation" fees for college football season tickets. It is a mandatory fee to be able to get your tickets, but they call it a donation so you can write it off on your taxes.
I'm sure he is frustrated, and not totally without reason. That said, he's a little naive. I think it should be the way he expects it to be, but it's not that way very much in the NFL, and hasn't been with many teams for quite a while. With the rookie salary slots, there's no holdouts or prolonged negotiations, but before the advent of the salary slots, there were frequently delays and problems signing rookies. There have also often been long periods of inactivity and in the "midst of negotiations" with players due a second or third contract. Neither side wants to appear too anxious. They want to gain leverage. The salary cap has often made it tougher. At this point they Jets have all the leverage. Mo is still under contract. The Jets could always franchise him, but I don't think they will. They drafted Williams. Mo and his agents are also not dealing with the same GM who drafted him. I'm sure that as a rookie GM he's not wanting to be seen as a pushover. He wants to be seen as a tough negotiator who gets the best of negotiations. Mo's agents may be lying to him or may be too greedy. Mo himself might be overvaluing his worth and asking for too much money. I hope it gets worked out soon too and that Mo will stay and be happy. We'll just have to wait and see.
I'm surprised that re-signing Mo wasn't a priority with Mac, but we don't know all the details. It may be a matter of Mac pinching pennies or wanting to be seen as a tough negotiator, or Mo and/or his agents may be asking for Watt money or even if less than that, may be asking for a lot more than Mac thinks he's worth. They had to give Marshall a raise. That was part of the deal for him to sign with the Jets. He had a lot of suitors. I was initially against bringing Revis back, but he's here, is a great player, and hasn't been a problem, so I don't have a problem with paying him. I do agree that Mo should have been re-signed before all the other additional FAs (Cro, Gilchrist, Skrine, Ridley, Kellen Davis et al) were signed. Those moves improved the team significantly (at least on paper), but will they really help if we wind up losing Mo as a result? I know that the FA period is short and one has to be aggressive and move quickly, and there were draft preparations to be made, but money should have been saved to pay Mo, even if Mac did wait until after the draft to begin heavy negotiations. Money wasn't saved. I don't know how they will possibly be able to pay Mo now, unless it's all future money. I'm deadset against franchising Mo. I believe that's over $14 million per season. He's not worth that kind of money imo. I think the base ought to be somewhere around $10-$11 million with a lot of incentives, escalators for making All Pro, if the Jets reach the AFC Championship Game, if he reaches certain fairly attainable goals, etc. that could escalate his contract to around $12-$13 million per year.
