Jets have good chance to get Asomugha

The Jets appear to be inching closer to landing Nnamdi Asomugha.

With the Texans agreeing to terms Thursday night on a five-year deal with Johnathan Joseph, considered the second-best cornerback on the market, that essentially dropped Houston out of the picture, making this a race between the Jets and 49ers for Asomugha's services.

The Jets now can be considered the favorite to land the four-time All-Pro, and Asomugha's decision could come Friday. But they might not be totally in the clear yet. The 49ers remain very much in the mix for the coveted free agent, especially after releasing cornerback Nate Clements Thursday, which reportedly freed up roughly $7 million in cap space.

The Jets can offer Asomugha the bright lights of Broadway, but San Francisco has one advantage: It offers all the comforts of home. Asomugha is more of the laid-back West Coast type and, according to a source, he would like to stay in the Bay Area.

A California native, he grew up in the southern part of the Golden State and played at the University of California before the Raiders drafted him in 2003.

If the Jets were to sign Asomugha, he'd probably command a salary higher than the roughly $11.5 million Darrelle Revis averages per season.

But the Jets' lockdown, All-Pro corner made it clear Wednesday that he wouldn't be upset in the least if the Jets gave Asomugha a richer contract than the four-year, $46-million deal Revis inked in September.

"That's Nnamdi's situation," Revis said. "Money is not the issue here. The issue here with us is just trying to build a championship-caliber team. Everybody has their own situation.

"I'm not angry at what anybody gets. That's their situation. You perform on the field to get what you deserve, and Nnamdi is deserving of getting the top dollars, which he has to do.

"My thing is, I hope we get him."

So does D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

"Nnamdi is a great player," the left tackle and Freeport product said Thursday on 1050 ESPN Radio. "And if that occurs, that's something that would be awesome."

Notes & quotes:Brad Smith was hopeful that he'd be able to stay with the team that drafted him. Instead, he'll be squaring off against the Jets twice a season. The free-agent wide receiver/kick returner agreed to a four-year, $15-million deal with the AFC East rival Bills Thursday, according to a source. Smith's preference was to re-sign with the Jets, but with his former team focused on locking up Asomugha for the moment, Smith didn't think he could afford to wait and jumped on the Bills' offer . . . After signing 10 undrafted free agents Wednesday, the Jets announced the signing of six more Thursday: ILB Matthias Berning (Central Michigan), C Taylor Boggs (Humboldt State), S Byron Landor (Baylor), S Davon Morgan (Virginia Tech), C Zane Taylor (Utah) and OL Jeff Wills (Minnesota).