So, should Feeney stay or go?

Case to stay

Feeney provided the Jets with depth, as hoped, and the team should be able to bring him back at an affordable cap number. In addition to being a positive locker room presence, Feeney was obviously targeted by the Jets as a good scheme fit due to his athleticism and now he also has the advantage of scheme familiarity after being with the team for a full year.

He has the versatility you would like to see from a rotational lineman, with the ability to play center or guard. As noted, he can also fill in as an extra lineman in jumbo packages. The ability to play well at center is vital because good backup centers are harder to find than backup guards and that need is magnified by the fact that McGovern will be coming off an injury.

In the last three games, Feeney and the line as a whole initially played extremely well. They rushed for a season-high 273 yards in a win over the Jaguars despite both starting guards being out and then played well enough with Feeney in for McGovern at center to almost upset the Bucs. While the season finale didn’t go quite so well for the offensive line, that probably had more to do with George Fant’s absence than anything Feeney did wrong.

Case to go

Towards the end of the season, it seemed unlikely Feeney would return. He had barely figured into the team's plans all year and there wasn’t much confidence in his abilities because of his preseason struggles.

The idea of paying $4 million for a player the Jets barely used and that you’d expect to struggle if he was called upon may have been hard to swallow for some fans, but he did somewhat prove himself down the stretch.

It’s possible that Feeney's good stretch late last year may just have been a short-term fix with the team scheming around his deficiencies. However, there were diminishing returns, though, as evident in the season finale where the Bills racked up nine sacks.

If the Jets don’t bring back Feeney it will be because they view him as a limited player if he’s forced to start and might instead prefer to fill out their depth chart with players that bring more long-term upside.

Verdict

The Jets are unlikely to be planning any scenarios where Feeney is in the mix to start in 2022, but he could be a valuable reserve again and should come at an affordable rate. His performance down the stretch coupled with the fact that McGovern has to rehab his knee injury certainly strengthen the case for him to return.

The team will have to decide whether to re-sign Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and if they’re going to retain Greg Van Roten for the final year of his three-year deal, but it’s not impossible all three could be back.

Even if the Jets do re-sign Feeney, he’s unlikely to command the sort of deal that guarantees him a spot on the roster. It therefore makes sense to get him re-signed and bring him back into camp. If someone younger happens to beat him out, then they can always cut ties later.

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