Free agency has taken a back seat in the Jets universe during what feels like a never-ending Aaron Rodgers watch.
But whatever Rodgers decides, the Jets have other holes to fill on the roster, and that can start Monday at noon when teams are able to negotiate with the representatives for unrestricted free agents.
Players can’t officially sign with teams until Wednesday at 4 p.m., but there will be a bevy of free-agent activity on Monday and Tuesday.
For the Jets, the big piece this offseason is the quarterback. If Rodgers agrees to a trade from the Packers, that will end any need to look for a quarterback in free agency.
If Rodgers shocks the Jets and retires or says he won’t play for them, then they may have to jump into the Jimmy Garoppolo market. Garoppolo is sure to have many suitors in free agency.
Unlike the past two years, the Jets need to make moves to clear salary-cap space in order to sign players.
That started last week when they informed wide receiver Braxton Berrios he would be released, and they reworked the contract of tight end C.J. Uzomah.
The Jets also restructured the contacts of guard Laken Tomlinson, cornerback D.J. Reed and tight end Tyler Conklin, records showed on Saturday, to create $15.2 million in cap space.
The Jets have between $15 million-$20 million in cap space at the moment. Rodgers carries a $15.74 million salary-cap charge under his current contract.
There are more moves to come for the Jets to clear more space.
They can restructure the contracts of linebacker C.J. Mosley, defensive end Carl Lawson and defensive end John Franklin-Myers.
They are also expected to cut wide receiver Corey Davis ($10.5 million in savings), and safety Jordan Whitehead ($7.2 million) could be expendable after they traded for Chuck Clark on Thursday.
The Jets can clear enough space to add free agents along with Rodgers, but don’t expect them to be splashy on Day 1 of free agency this year.
Head coach Robert Saleh recently said the Jets would be “judicious” in free agency. That is usually code for not spending a ton of money.
Saleh said the major additions will be made on offense while the Jets try to bring their defensive players back after they finished No. 4 in total defense last year.
“You know there’s certain things, certain places where we need to improve on, but obviously the draft is going to give us some of those opportunities too, the quarterback position, like we talked about, but as far as defense, just making sure that we can run it back with the guys we have and then offensively, seeing if we can be judicious in our approach,” Saleh said.
The areas to watch in free agency are offensive line, wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker and safety. But expect general manager Joe Douglas to be a value shopper and pounce after the first wave of free agents come off the board.
If he does go for a big-ticket player, there has been speculation around the league that the Jets might move on from Mosley at inside linebacker and make a run at Bills free agent Tremaine Edmunds, who is going to carry a hefty price tag. Saleh was such a fan of Edmunds when he came out of college that he wore Edmunds’ Virginia Tech jersey to the draft room of the 49ers.
Along the offensive line, the Jets need a center to replace Connor McGovern, who is a free agent, and they could add another tackle to a group that includes Duane Brown, Mekhi Becton and Max Mitchell, who are all coming off injuries.
Among their own free agents, the Jets have interest in bringing back linebacker Quincy Williams, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and kicker Greg Zuerlein.
Like everything else with the Jets right now, it is hard to know exactly what direction they are going in until we know if the quarterback is going to be Rodgers.
Three could be Jets
Tremaine Edmunds, ILB
If the Jets make a splash signing, this could be it. Saleh has loved Edmunds since he was in college and wanted to draft him while he was with the 49ers.
Swiping him from the Bills would be huge for the Jets, but he will have a hefty price tag, and it would mean moving on from C.J. Mosley.
Andre Dillard, OT
The Jets have a lot of uncertainty at tackle right now.
They could choose to address it in the draft. If they do go the veteran route, GM Joe Douglas was part of the Eagles’ front office that drafted Dillard in 2019.
The Jets could add him to a group that has Duane Brown, Mekhi Becton and Max Mitchell at the moment.
Allen Lazard, WR
If Aaron Rodgers comes to town, how about bringing along one of his favorite targets?
He could replace Corey Davis, who is expected to be released by the Jets. Lazard would be a nice complement to Garrett Wilson and would give Rodgers a familiar face.
