Jets Twit is proud to welcome back Adam Greenbaum AKA @adam_greenbaum on twitter (@holyjoenamath) back to the fold! Before the season, I started writing for Adam on his site, and now we are honored for him to be a contributor on our site.
Hello Jets fan, I’ve missed you. Your friend Adam Greenbaum (The guy that ran HolyJoeNamath.com) back to talk about who is staying and who is going for the Jets this off season.
The fans may have some guesses on who will and wont be here, but we were given a ton of clues during Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum’s recent press conference. We must almost remember the current predicament the Jets are in, because of the teams success making the AFC Championship this season, it negatively affects our ability to participate in free agency. Straight from the current NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, via Rich Cimini the Jets have some restriction:
“During the Final League Year, the eight clubs that make the Divisional Playoffs in the previous season have additional restrictions that limit their ability to sign unrestricted free agents from other clubs. In general, the four clubs participating in the championship games are limited in the number of free agents that they may sign; the limit is determined by the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs. They cannot sign any UFAs unless one of theirs is signed by another team.
“For the four clubs that lost in the Divisional Playoffs, in addition to having the ability to sign free agents based on the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs, they may also sign players based on specific financial parameters. Those four only will be permitted to sign one unrestricted free agent for $5.5 million (estimated) or more in year one of the contract, plus the number of their UFAs who sign with another team. They also can sign any unrestricted free agents for less than $3.7 (estimated) million in year one of the contract with limitations on the per year increases.
“In the case of all final eight teams, the first year salary of UFAs they sign to replace those lost cannot exceed the first year salary of the player lost with limitations on the per year increases.“
What does this mean? Well, simply put, to sign anyone as an unrestricted free agent, we must first lose our own unrestricted free agents at an equal or lesser salary. With the Jets biggest names free agents being FB Tony Richardson, TE Ben Hartsock, DE Marques Douglas and PK Jay Feely, I doubt we play much of a role at all in free agency.
With this being said, Mike Tannenbaum took some time to talk about a few players currently in limbo on the team:
Lito Sheppard: Lito was benched before the AFC Championship game, came in due to injuries, got torched fiercely, and was then relegated back to the bench. Not too much of a stretch to say that he and his $10 million bonus due in March will not be around much longer.
Vernon Gholston: Surprisingly, Mikey T had high praise of Vernon Gholston saying he has no reason to believe that Vernon doesn’t love football. I still feel with a huge cap number, and no cap to take the hit on, the Jets will cut their losses if he has another lackluster off season. What else would you expect Mike to say? He is the guy that drafted him 6th overall two years ago.
Braylon Edwards: The Jets are tendering Braylon at the highest tender possible, a 1st and a 3rd rounder to the Jets from the team that signs him. Braylon had an up and down season and I highly expect him to be back, with that said, if a team offers a 1st, or even a 2nd and something else, I think he’s gone. Just a gut feeling. A lot of big drops in big time situations.
Leon Washington: The Jets have still not decided the amount, but will be tendering Leon Washington at some level. I doubt it’s a first and third but could see a 2nd round tender of some sorts, which seems right. Leon is coming off of a major injury, with his rehab and contract issue still floating around I still see this situation as very much up in the air.
Kellen Clemens: Surprisingly, the Jets will tender Kellen Clemens instead of letting him walk away for nothing. Still, I highly doubt he is back next season. The Jets need more of a veteran backup to help the young QB and still have cheaper options as backups in Erik Ainge and Kevin O’Connell. Clemens has also been very vocal about competing for a starting gig, it’s not happening here.
Thomas Jones: This one is a doozy. Coming off back to back big time years you would think there is no question Mr. Jones and his pythons will be back, but you may be wrong. Last season Jones held out of part of off season workouts for a contract extension he never received, with another big year under his belt he surely will want more money. The issues here are the emergence of Shonn Greene, the return of Leon Washington, and the fact that Thomas Jones showed his age (32) in the playoffs with not a lot of gas left in the tank. He’s due a $3 million bonus in the next few months, this will be interesting.
Kerry Rhodes: I saved this one for last. Erik has blogged furiously on this subject yet no one knows but Rex, Tannenbaum and Kerry himself. The same proclaimed “Hollywood” has had a rocky season with his benching, his inconsistent play and the drama that has carried over to the off season. Recently a guest on SNY’s “The Wheelhouse”, Kerry was not too convincing when speaking about returning to the Jets even those his words were meant to sound positive. I think this is 60-40 in favor of him not returning.
There will be a lot of movement and news this off season with the Jets and I’ll do whatever I can to help. I’ve missed all the Jets readers and look forward to talking to you on Twitter @Adam_Greenbaum.
