New York Jets: Five internal free agents worth bringing back

Kony Ealy

Admit it, I had you guessing on the previous slide, didn’t I?

Here was a player that we didn’t expect to have as we entered the 2017 season. That is because he was working out for the “Evil Empire” up in New England. He was seemingly going to be getting after the quarterback for the Patriots,, and his 14 sacks in three years with Carolina gave him the credentials to do so.

So, when Ealy was released by the Patriots,, the Jets jumped at the chance to bring his edge presence on board. After all, doesn’t it feel like a generation has gone by since the team had a talented edge rusher? Add to that the idea that they stole someone from New England and it makes it a win-win. In the war of New England and New York, any potential edge is certainly worth exploring.

To his credit, Ealy did get in the quarterback’s face. He only got home for one sack but you know where it showed up? He defended nine passes. You don’t often see a lineman knock down that many passes. It was a way to make his presence felt even when not recording a sack. If the other players along the line played better, Ealy would have better opportunities to post sacks. However, he played well enough to earn another chance in 2018.