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New York Jets: Don’t overvalue the free agent opportunities

ByAlan Schechter|
Matt Paradis #61 of the Denver Broncos (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Matt Paradis #61 of the Denver Broncos (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

With free agency looming, New York Jets fans have to remember to not overvalue the opportunities, as many of them won’t be there.

New York Jetsfans, the process of building the 2019 will begin in earnest soon rather than later. The combine is on the way. After that, the free agency period begins. The free for all bidding war takes the NFL world by storm.

Who will be joining the team? We know they will make a hard run atLe’Veon Bell. But if not him, who? CouldTevin Colemanbe plan B? What about offensive linemen likeMatt Paradis? MaybeMitch Morseis more your type.

Could one of the defensive players shake free, likeDee Ford? The Jets certainly need a pass rush.

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It has been discussed ad nauseam that the Jets have a lot of money. Where are they going to spend it?

Everybody hopes that this year’s haul is better than last year, the group headed byTrumaine JohnsonandSpencer Long.

But fans have to remember that the team isn’t going to be able to just sign any of these guys we have been talking about.

First of all, the Jets are hardly the only team with cap space. Between structuring of contracts and the fact that the cap is bigger every year, every team has cap money to play with.

The Jets aren’t just going to go through the league and sign Bell, Paradis, Morse and Ford and call it a day. It doesn’t work that way.

Secondly, many of the top-tier free agents end up getting re-signed by their original teams. They figure out a compromise contract or they tag the player, bringing them back for the next year and taking them off the market, at least for the time being.

Case and point is Buccaneers offensive linemanAli Marpet.

Here is a young interior lineman that would immediately make an impact on the Jets. At 25 years old he would be a fixture on the left side of the Jets line. The Jets could just sign him before the 2019 season, right?

No they cannot. Marpetre-signedwith Tampa Bay back in October. He will be remaining down in Florida for the next five years. This is a guy that most fans wanted, and they won’t even get the chance to sign him here in New York. His current team beat them to it.

That’s not to say that the Jets won’t have some opportunities during the free agency period. They just won’t have all of the opportunities that fans have been talking about.

Don’t overvalue this period. The long-term solutions, for the most part, are not here.

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