Joe Douglas says he never should have let Robby Anderson leave Jets in free agency
Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson is tackled by Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell during the first half of an NFL game on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP/Mike McCarn
Jets general manager Joe Douglas admitted he made a huge mistake letting Robby Anderson go in free agency.
Douglas said that he miscalculated Anderson’s market value and expected him to get more than the two-year, $20 million deal he received from Carolina.
"I thought about Robby a lot," Douglas said. "I go back and I look at what I could have done better in that specific situation. I think what went wrong with us and Robby, we thought that Robby’s value was going to be even greater than what he signed for in Carolina.
"That’s on me ultimately and that’s on us moving forward to get a better handle of every player’s market value."
The Jets have missed Anderson’s ability to stretch the field. They have the worst offense in the NFL and have just one receiving touchdown in the last five games.
Anderson is third in the NFL with 688 receiving yards and 51 catches. His replacement, Breshad Perriman, who signed a one-year deal for $6 million guaranteed, has only 11 receptions for 118 yards. Perriman has missed four games because of injury.
"Honestly we would all love to see Robby here doing what he’s doing," Douglas said. "I tip my hat to the success he has. But we don’t want to be in the business of losing good players."
Williams not going anywhere
Douglas said any rumors that the Jets were willing to trade second-year nose tackle Quinnen Williams were false. Douglas said he told Williams and his agent the reports were untrue and shared his "vision" for Williams. Douglas made it sound as if he would like to build around Williams on defense.
"Quinnen plays a premium position," Douglas said. The offensive and defensive line matters, it’s the foundation of what we want to be. He’s an interior pass rusher that I think’s gotten better every week. He’s not a good person, he’s a great person. The plan is to keep as many of those people around as possible."
Herndon stays
Douglas also refuted a report that the Jets were shopping third-year tight end Chris Herndon, who has had a disappointing season.
"We were not shopping Chris. We received no calls on Chris," Douglas said. "I think there was some misinformation out there on that."
