Don’t worry, Jets’ fans.
The Jets made a good move sending quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to the Saints for a third-round draft pick. They signed him for $500,000 and gave him a signing bonus for the same amount.
So, it was $1 million for a third-round pick. Not bad.
Everyone soon realized Bridgewater became a trade chip.
Remember, Bridgewater is a still a risk with his knee despite a good showing during camp. He hasn’t played against a first-team unit.
If necessary, Bridgewater could be resigned next season based on his performance with the Saints.
Now the Jets have turned over the reins to Sam Darnold in what could be a swim-or-sink season. They also could have tossed away the notion of a season based on wins.
It’s still too early to tell until we see Darnold in action. Josh McCown is still in the wings.
The key here is the third-round pick. GM Mike Maccagnan has two third-round picks to make a major move.
Maccagnan can tangle one or both to try and pry loose the Jaguars’ Dante Fowler or the Raiders’ Khalil Mack to secure the pass rusher problem and not have Leonard Williams double-teamed all the time.
Getting Mack surely will take more than that, but it is still a major play in his pocket. A single third-round pick should be enough to get Fowler if they want a quick fix.
Yet, Maccagnan also has a first-round pick and a fourth-, fifth-, and seventh-round as additional bait.
The Jets have roughly $20 million under their cap to make a move on Mack and they will have approximately $80-90 million next year. Maccagnan likely will scour the waiver wires and make some calls to search for some offensive line depth and running back help before the season begins.
With Eli McGuire out, the Jets need a reliable third-running back.
It’s time to make some more moves.
They won’t have to worry about a major payday for Darnold for the next four years.
If Darnold is as good as the Jets obviously believe he can be, getting Mack and signing him for the next four years puts them into a contender mode.
Maccagnan has shown that he isn’t afraid to pull the trigger on a big or small deal. Just think about it with every Darnold touchdown pass this season.
This could be an exciting and entertaining 10 days down the stretch toward the opener.
Based on what the Jets have done so far, there isn’t any need to worry.