New York Jets: Not exercising option for Calvin Pryor is right move

The New York Jets recently made the decision to not exercise the fifth-year option for safety Calvin Pryor, was this the right move?

One of the biggest disappointments for the New York Jets in 2016 was the poor play from safety Calvin Pryor. Heading into his third season, the Jets had high hopes for the hard-hitting safety.

After two decent years to start his career, Pryor really regressed in his third year. In the NFL now, passing as become a huge factor in the game. This has led to a change in the safety position, as they are frequently asked to cover players in man-to-man coverage in addition to zone over the top at times.

For Pryor, we knew his abilities to be a strong player in the box, however, he was awful in coverage last season. As a team, the Jets were beat deep for far too many plays last season. As one of the safeties, the blame certainly goes on Pryor for some of these mistakes.

Entering his fourth season, the Jets decided not to pick up the fifth–year option on Pryor. From the team’s standpoint, this is certainly the right move. Pryor’s future with the team is very much in doubt after they selected both Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye in the first and second round of the NFL Draft.

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The Jets are opening to trading Pryor, and not exercising his fifth-year option actually helps the Jets’ chances of trading him. No team would want to invest two years into Pryor at this point, as he has a lot to prove on the field.

As a young player, Pryor can still certainly improve in coverage and become a complete safety. However, that might not happen in New York. Adams should certainly be able to start in Week 1, and Maye is also capable of doing so.

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If the right offer comes along, the Jets could very well trade Pryor this offseason. As a former first round pick just a few years ago, Pryor looks like another draft disappointment for the Jets.

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