With the Jets at 1-5, GM Joe Douglas could potentially deal some big names in advance of the trade deadline.
SNY's Ralph Vacchiano recently wrote about the few big pieces he has to sell …
DL Leonard Williams
The Jets keep praising the 25-year-old despite his lack of production. "He really has played well," defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said on Friday. "He's graded out high each and every week."
OK, but he still doesn't have a sack and has never become the pass rusher everyone expected, so it's really hard to imagine the Jets giving him the lucrative, long-term contract he's going to seek - especially considering they're already paying him $14.2 million this year. If they're not going to pay him, they should trade him to a team that needs line help and thinks they can help him reach his potential. What's he worth?
"Maybe a third-round pick," one league source said, though others have speculated the price could be higher. "His age makes him worth it," the source said. "His production makes him a hard sell."
CB Trumaine Johnson
Douglas should be the NFL executive of the year if he can unload Johnson and the rest of his five-year, $72.5 million contract. In his year-and-a-quarter with the Jets he's been fined, suspended, benched, injured, and his play has been terrible at times. At this point, they'd probably be willing to endure the massive salary cap hit they'd take for trading him if they could just rid themselves of the headache.
It's not impossible, even with $50.5 million left on his contract after this season, because none of it's guaranteed (though his 2020 salary of $11 million does become guaranteed if he's on a roster on March 21. But none of the sources contacted by SNY thought anyone would trade for Johnson right now.
RB Le'Veon Bell
It would be crazy, right, trading your best player - and one of the best running backs in the league - just a couple of months into a four-year, $52.5 million contract?
Yes. And it would leave the Jets so barren on offense that they'd be a lock for another Top 5 pick in the NFL draft. This is only something to consider if Douglas shares the view coach Adam Gase expressed back in March, that he didn't want the Jets to spend this much money on the running back position. It's not about the player. It's about asset allocation.
And if Douglas agrees, then Bell might be the most marketable player the Jets have. They'd have to get at least a first-round pick in return, maybe more, considering he's only 27 and his guaranteed money only runs through next season. Bell is probably a player the Jets should be building around at this point. But they at least have to listen if someone calls. So, would anyone call?
"I'd think they'd have a line at their door if they made him available," one scout said.