-
Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets:
1. Last chance: One of the challenges for the coaching staff in 2024 will be to rebuild the confidence of its $44 million wide receiver, who is dangerously close to becoming one of the biggest free agent busts in franchise history. Let’s call it the Allen Lazard Project.
Lazard is coming off one of the worst statistical seasons in recent memory, a year so difficult that he was a healthy scratch for three games. He needs to “recapture [his] edge,” coach Robert Saleh said late in the season. The objective is to pull him out of that funk and reignite the fire that helped him rise from an undrafted free agent to a moderately productive starter for the Green Bay Packers in 2021 and 2022.
Enter, Aaron Rodgers, Lazard’s past and present quarterback.
“That’s one relationship that I’m going to lean into this offseason,” Rodgers said at the end of the season. “It was definitely frustrating for him. … I want to see him getting back to more of a positive mindset and feeling good about himself and his potential role in the offense. I’m going to lean into Allen. I have a lot of love and appreciation for him, but, obviously, this year didn’t go the way that he wanted.”
The Jets have no choice but to make it work because Lazard’s 2024 salary ($10 million) is fully guaranteed, part of the $22 million guarantee he received on his four-year, $44 million contract. Both Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas said Lazard remains in their plans, with Douglas saying, “I don’t think Allen’s story is over by a long shot” and Saleh guaranteeing that Lazard will improve in 2024.
It always raises questions when a player falls off after receiving his first big contract. Is his motivation gone? In Lazard’s case, the Jets are hoping it was simply a matter of the player getting lost in the newness of a new team, new city and bigger expectations.
Lazard, who had 23 receptions for 311 yards, averaged 0.74 yards per route — second lowest among wide receivers with at least 400 routes in a season over the last five years, per ESPN Stats & Information data. In 2021, Demarcus Robinson recorded 0.61 with the Kansas City Chiefs. Lazard’s 0.74 is the 10th worst over the last 10 years.
The Jets are hoping to make a significant addition at receiver through trade, free agency or the draft, which would drop Lazard on the depth chart. Ultimately, that may benefit him because he doesn’t seem cut out for WR2.
2. Game of tag: Starting Feb. 20, teams will have a two-week window with which to designate franchise and transition players. For the Jets, there’s only one pending free agent worthy of consideration — Bryce Huff.
Huff is 25 and he’s coming off a career year (10 sacks), which should make him a hot commodity. He won’t get there if the Jets utilize the franchise tag, but the projected tag amount is considerable — $23 million for a defensive end, according to Over the Cap.
Many factors will go into that decision. It would be unusual to tag a defensive end who played only 42% of the defensive snaps, considering: In the last five offseasons, all 18 defensive players who received the franchise tag played at least 72% of his team’s snaps in the previous season. Huff would be an outlier; the Jets must place a value on that.
Some might be wondering about a potential tag and trade, but that’s a tricky proposition. Not only would the Jets have to carry the $23 million on their cap until the trade is executed, restricting other spending, but it would take another team willing to dole out a big contract and pay a premium draft pick to the Jets. This is why tag and trades are uncommon.
The transition tag is projected at $20.1 million. Under the transition tag, the Jets would get no compensation for Huff, but would have the right of first refusal.
The Jets have a month to formulate their strategy. In the meantime, they will try to re-sign him to a long-term deal before he becomes a free agent.
3. Injury update: C.J. Uzomah, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Dec. 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, revealed the specifics on the “New York, New York” podcast, hosted by John Jastremski of The Ringer.
Uzomah said he suffered MCL and meniscus damage, plus a plateau fracture of the tibia. Doctors said he can’t put any weight on it until Feb. 1. He said the recovery is going well, but that the rehab is “way worse” than his Achilles rehab from a few years ago.
The tight end is under contract for 2024, but his roster spot is thought to be in jeopardy because of an $11.2 million cap charge.
4. Deadline approaching: Defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, who heads the top position group on the team, will be a free agent at the end of the month. The Jets are trying to hammer out an extension, a person familiar with the situation said. Whitecotton, the line coach since 2021, is well-respected by his players. He’s also close with safeties coach Marquand Manuel, who interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ defensive coordinator vacancy. It’s something to keep an eye on.
5. Did you know? The Jets finished with 11 touchdown passes, their lowest total since 2005. Even with the quarterback instability in the league this season, 27 quarterbacks managed to throw more than 11 touchdown passes.
6. Quite a rebound: One of the cool things about linebacker Quincy Williams being named first-team All-Pro is that he’s the only player on the squad, not counting special teamers, to have been released by a team in his career. For Williams, it happened in 2021, when he was cut by the Jaguars, who drafted him in 2019. “It was motivation, for real, to the point where I never want to feel like that again,” he told ESPN during the 2023 season.
Mission accomplished.
7. Ready for breakout: Which player might break through next season to the Pro Bowl/All-Pro level? The obvious choices are running back Breece Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson, but don’t forget about defensive end Jermaine Johnson, who said his goal is to make the Pro Bowl.
“You ask anybody in the NFL, from staff to players, just based off the film, I’m a problem,” he said. Johnson tripled his sack total from 2022 to 2023, going from 2.5 to 7.5. The cherry on top was a pick-six in the next-to-last game.
8. Coaching spotlight: Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was chosen as the head coach for the National team in the upcoming Senior Bowl on Feb. 3. He was chosen by a group of league office executives and representatives from the General Managers Advisory Committee, which evaluated a pool of nominees submitted by head coaches and GMs from non-playoff and wild-card teams.
It’s a great opportunity for Ulbrich, who has expressed a desire to be a head coach one day. He hasn’t interviewed for any of the vacancies in this year’s hiring cycle, probably because of the lack of team success in recent years. In the meantime, his résumé is expanding; he has coordinated a top-five defense for two years running.
9. Eye on the draft: The other upside to Ulbrich’s coaching assignment is that it will allow him to gain behind-the-scenes intel on the draft prospects, which he can pass along to the scouting department. The rest of the Jets’ coaches won’t be in Mobile, Alabama; they’re off until Feb. 4. This is the second year the Senior Bowl is using mixed coaching staffs. The Jets’ full staff had the assignment in January 2022.
10. Enjoy the Kool-Aid: The Jets keep saying they’re “close” to being a legitimate contender, but “everybody is sick of hearing how close we are,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. He’s right; that gets tiring after 13 straight years out of the playoffs. But Conklin pointed to his home-state team as an example of how patience can be rewarded.
“I’m from Michigan — I’m not a Lions fan — but everybody sat there and went through the same thing, drinking the Kool-Aid for the Lions every year,” Conklin said. “Then, this year, they figured it out a little bit.”
