No one spends like a general manager trying to save his job. Free agency is the quick fix for all problems. You hand out absurd contracts, which earns you favorable headlines. Suddenly, everyone loves you. It’s a tale as old as time.
It just won’t be read in Florham Park.
Because while there are few seats hotter than that of Joe Douglas, the Jets general manager won’t veer from the strategy he’s deployed the last four offseasons. Think he’s about to devolve into his coffee-crazed predecessor? Think again.
The Jets will not spend big in free agency this year.
Douglas learned almost everything he knows working with the Ravens and Ozzie Newsome. He’s grown and evolved over the years, sure, but that’s the person he models himself after. So look at how the Ravens do business. It’s not about winning the offseason. It’s about drafting players, developing them, keeping them, then supplementing the roster in free agency.
That exact plan is what Douglas pitched Christopher Johnson before signing his six-year contract. The patience to carry it out afforded him by ownership. It’s now Year 5 — time for the Jets, 27-56 over the last four years, to start winning and make the playoffs.
Douglas believes getting there means staying the course.
The players signed shortly after the legal tampering period begins are handed eye-popping, jaw-dropping contracts from their new teams. It’s important to remember their old ones, in almost every case, chose to let them go. It’s rare you see a legitimate A-list player on the open market. The Jets, ironically, found one they classified as that in 2019 with linebacker C.J. Mosley, but the vast majority are B-list guys getting A-list money from desperate teams.
Douglas, even with his job on the line, will not succumb himself to being one of those desperate teams. He is hellbent in his belief that the right way to build the Jets is the way that he’s building the Jets. He’s not going to stray from that plan — the Ozzie Newsome plan — just because 2024 is do-or-die. He’s going to see this through.
The Jets won’t sleep their way through the opening days of free agency, they’re just going to be playing in the same tier Douglas has since taking over. He’ll look at the guard market because there is value there. He’ll look at the safety market because there is value there. He’ll certainly add a backup quarterback. But when it comes to high-profile players like tackle Tyron Smith and receiver Calvin Ridley, Douglas will not go above a number he believes works for the Jets. He’ll gladly watch another team make that mistake in a bidding war.
Comparison: The Giants gave an absurd contract to Kenny Golladay (four years, $72 million) while Douglas landed Corey Davis (three years, $37.5 million).
This might evoke some hysteria amongst a fanbase starved of the playoffs 13 years running — the longest drought of any team in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL. It’s a luxury Douglas feels he has as the Jets continue to try to develop the youth on their roster — some, the Jets believe, have yet to tap into their potential (Xavier Gipson, Carter Warren). He believes the best plan for the Jets is to keep growing those who are here, not bringing castoffs from another franchise.
The Jets aren’t without holes. They know they need a complement to Garrett Wilson and a near full remake of the offensive line (three new starters). Specifically tackle and guard are their top priorities, but Douglas’ focus is still on filling the bulk of their needs in the draft and supplementing the rest in free agency. That’s what he’ll continue to do.
But for those hoping for a spending spree?
That’s just not going to happen.