For Jets GM Joe Douglas, this is make-or-break offseason
Jets head coach Joe Douglas at the end-of-season press conference on Jan. 8. Credit: Tom Rock / Newsday
The return of Aaron Rodgers, a four-time MVP who is on a mission to prove he still can play at that elite level at 40 years old despite coming off a torn Achilles tendon, certainly will cure some of the Jets’ ills. They still need more, though.
It’s time for Joe Douglas to go to work.
Legal tampering in the NFL begins March 11. Pre-legal tampering started for real this past week at the NFL Combine, with executives and agents either opening or continuing dialogue. Douglas, the Jets’ general manager in his fifth offseason, has plenty to do to turn this team from 7-10 into a contender.
Here are the Jets’ needs:
1. A strong offensive line to keep Rodgers upright and healthy and open holes for Breece Hall. Douglas will be looking for at least three starters. It could be two guards and a tackle if the Jets move the versatile Alijah Vera-Tucker outside to tackle or two tackles and a guard if Vera-Tucker stays inside.
2. A wide receiver 1A to take some of the defense’s attention away from Garrett Wilson. It appears Davante Adams and Tee Higgins are or will be off the market. If so, Douglas should be pursuing Calvin Ridley, Michael Pittman and Brandon Aiyuk. If Justin Jefferson somehow is available, Douglas’ first call should be to Minnesota.
3. A proven veteran backup quarterback. Zach Wilson wasn’t the guy. As owner Woody Johnson noted last month: “We need a backup quarterback. We didn’t have one last year.”
The Jets gave Wilson’s agent permission to find a trade. The Jets might need to pick up part of Wilson’s salary or add a late-round pick to entice a team to take him. They’ll also have to spend on a backup.
Ryan Tannehill, Gardner Minshew or Jacoby Brissett probably won’t come cheap.
4. A defensive tackle to play alongside Quinnen Williams. Al Woods and Quinton Jefferson played well before getting injured. The Jets could try to bring back Jefferson or try to find someone in free agency.
5. Shore up the secondary with Jordan Whitehead and Ashtyn Davis set to be free agents. The Jets could try to bring both of them back.
It’s a critical offseason for Douglas, whose resume has been filled with some big-time hits and some misses, with Wilson the one who jumps out. Johnson put Douglas and Robert Saleh on alert when he said, “We have to do a lot better than [win] seven games.”
Douglas is always aggressive, but he’s methodical and measured in his approach, usually signing players to team-friendly contracts. It’s unlikely he’ll stray much from that. But this is the time to swing for the fences and go all-in on receivers Jefferson, Mike Evans and Aiyuk and do everything he can to trade up in the draft for a top tackle such as Notre Dame’s Joe Alt or Penn State’s Olu Fashanu.
The Jets need more than Rodgers and need to give him more help. They have a short window with Rodgers, anyway. The window on Douglas and Saleh appears to be closing. Only they can keep it open.
“It’s time to win,” Douglas said. “Everybody knows it.”
And now it’s time for him to go to work.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
