New York Jets: Grading the New York Jets Free Agency

The Jets had a very quiet off-season until a few days ago when they got Laron Landry. Oh then they got this Tim Tebow fellow. Maybe you’ve heard of him.

Bryan Thomas, OLB, signs undisclosed contract. [3/13/12]

This is a depth signing, which will not really impact the team much at all…at least you hope that the Jets are able to find someone better to play OLB than Bryan Thomas.

Grade: C+
Nick Folk, K, signs undisclosed deal. [3/14/12]

Folk was maybe more reliable last year than he was in any other year of his career. He’s still not a terrific kicker, but at least the Jets know what to expect with Foles.

Grade: B-
Kris O’Dowd, C, signs undisclosed deal. [3/14/12]

I liked O’Dowd as a prospect and haven’t completely backed off that, but he’s never going to replace Nick Mangold.

Grade: C-
Drew Stanton, QB, signs undisclosed contract. [3/16/12]

Well this is a story in of itself Stanton was signed to be the backup quarterback. He was promised by the Jets that he would be the only quarterback they pursued which did not turn out to be the case. However, they did get a late round pick out of it so good move in the end.

Grade: Signing a guy then immediately picking up a late round pick for him? Can’t complain about that. A-
Chaz Schilens, WR, signs one-year deal.

Schillens used to be a yearly pick as a fantasy sleeper, but his talent never completely materalized. I don’t think he’s much more than a guy who fills out the end of a roster.
LaRon Landry, S, signs one-year deal worth $4 million.

Here we go. Now this is a signing I like. I’m a fan of “show me” deals. One year deals, often heavily incenticized for talented players who are coming off disappointing years looking for big pay days. That’s exactly what this is. Landry has all the talent in the world and is an instant upgrade in terms of speed and range in the Jets secondary-something they desperately needed.

Grade: A

I like the move a lot. Not a lot of downside and a whole lot of upside.

Trade for Tim Tebow anda 7th rounder for a 4th and 6th rounder.

This trade has disaster written all over it. Tim Tebow is over-exposed when he was way out in Denver, which nobody cares about (you know the East Coast Bias thing), but now will be in the biggest media market int he United States and the biggest hype machine in the world. The Jets though have a young quarterback at a crossroads here who doesn’t need the Tebow circus and coverage. The Jets have just guaranteed Sanchez’s contract for 20 million or so dollars over the next two years. What is the upside of this move? Perhaps it pushes Sanchez to become a more complete quarterback, but I just don’t see how that is possible.

Think of this: Tebow enters this situation as a back-up quarterback, but he has already been promised snaps in games. He already has billboards in New York. The Jets are already promoting him. Tebow is going to be more popular than Sanchez from the jump. When has that ever been a great situation?

If the Jets were looking for a backup quarterback why not stick with Stanton. If the Jets were looking for media buzz Tebow makes sense, but I just can’t see how this promotes Sanchez’s development.

Grade: D

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