Taking a break from the madness of free agency to answer the New York Jets' question of the week:
@RichCimini: It's a totally legitimate question, Frank, because Matt Forte is no spring chicken at age 30. As you know, running backs age faster because of the wear and tear, so 30 is a number that definitely jumps off the page. The player he replaces, Chris Ivory, is turning 28 soon, so the swap doesn't fall in line with the get-younger philosophy. They felt they could bend a little because they saw Forte as a productive, versatile player who didn't crush the salary cap.
Counting Forte, seven of the 15 starters under contract are at least 30. It'll be eight if they ever re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick. Interestingly, the average age on the roster is 24.7, according to Spotrac. That makes them the seventh-youngest team. That tells me the roster lacks a strong middle class. The Jets have several good, highly-paid older players and a lot of young, unproven players, with not much in between. Why not? Blame years of spotty drafting for that.
Beyond the Forte signing, they seem to be making an effort to get younger. Look at the free agents they're showing interest in -- Marcus Sherels, Rod Streater, Jarvis Jenkins, Shea McClellin, Jermaine Gresham and Kelvin Beachum. They'll all be in the 27-28 age group when the season starts.
They already released Antonio Cromartie (32), and I don't think you'll see older vets such as Calvin Pace, Willie Colon and Stephen Bowen on the roster. Erin Henderson (30) can fall into that group. The Jets would welcome him back on a team-friendly contract, but he's drawing interest elsewhere.
In the coming days and weeks, through the draft, I think you'll see a youth movement in two areas -- linebacker and offensive line. At linebacker, they need to surround David Harris with some young, fast legs. On the offensive line, they have to think hard about a succession plan for Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson. It won't happen this year, but they should start plotting the future. Unfortunately for the Jets, they have only six draft picks. For now. They'd better use them wisely.
@RichCimini: It's a totally legitimate question, Frank, because Matt Forte is no spring chicken at age 30. As you know, running backs age faster because of the wear and tear, so 30 is a number that definitely jumps off the page. The player he replaces, Chris Ivory, is turning 28 soon, so the swap doesn't fall in line with the get-younger philosophy. They felt they could bend a little because they saw Forte as a productive, versatile player who didn't crush the salary cap.
Counting Forte, seven of the 15 starters under contract are at least 30. It'll be eight if they ever re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick. Interestingly, the average age on the roster is 24.7, according to Spotrac. That makes them the seventh-youngest team. That tells me the roster lacks a strong middle class. The Jets have several good, highly-paid older players and a lot of young, unproven players, with not much in between. Why not? Blame years of spotty drafting for that.
Beyond the Forte signing, they seem to be making an effort to get younger. Look at the free agents they're showing interest in -- Marcus Sherels, Rod Streater, Jarvis Jenkins, Shea McClellin, Jermaine Gresham and Kelvin Beachum. They'll all be in the 27-28 age group when the season starts.
They already released Antonio Cromartie (32), and I don't think you'll see older vets such as Calvin Pace, Willie Colon and Stephen Bowen on the roster. Erin Henderson (30) can fall into that group. The Jets would welcome him back on a team-friendly contract, but he's drawing interest elsewhere.
In the coming days and weeks, through the draft, I think you'll see a youth movement in two areas -- linebacker and offensive line. At linebacker, they need to surround David Harris with some young, fast legs. On the offensive line, they have to think hard about a succession plan for Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson. It won't happen this year, but they should start plotting the future. Unfortunately for the Jets, they have only six draft picks. For now. They'd better use them wisely.
