A year ago, the Jets were in the midst of a roster tear-down. Now, they are ready for the rebuild.
When free agency opens this week, the Jets are expected to be one of the most active teams in the NFL. They have approximately $90 million in salary cap space and plenty of holes to fill off a second straight 5-11 season.
Teams can begin negotiating with player agents on Monday at noon. Players cannot sign until 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
"It will be interesting to see which players we can potentially line up first for initial visits," general manager Mike Maccagnan said at the scouting combine two weeks ago. "Obviously we'll be very active on the first day in terms of the higher profile guys. I think the one thing I've noticed in the NFL this year or in the past years, I should say, is free agency moves very quickly. If you have guys targeted and you have your range how you value them, we'll be very active.
"We may sign a big-ticket guy. We may sign a small-ticket guy. It will be very interesting to see how it plays out. … Everybody is well aware we have quite a bit of cap space to work with. There are quite a few players we're interested in."
It is no secret one of those players is Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins is the top free agent on the market this year — a rare above-average quarterback in his prime hitting free agency. Cousins is expected to command somewhere near $30 million per season, and the Jets are ready to make a strong recruiting pitch.
The Jets will have competition. The Vikings, Broncos and Cardinals are all expected to make a run at the 29-year-old as well. Cousins is expected to take visits before signing, something he cannot start doing until Wednesday. If he visits more than one team, there might not be any resolution to where he is going to sign for several days.
If Cousins signs with another team, the Jets are expected to try to re-sign Josh McCown, who is also a free agent after a good 2017 season with the Jets.
Quarterback is at the top of the shopping list but far from the only position at which the Jets need help. You can look at every position on the roster except safety, where they drafted Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye last year, and make an argument that the Jets could use an upgrade or depth at the position.
On offense, the Jets' biggest areas of need other than quarterback are at running back and center. Players like Isaiah Crowell of the Browns, Dion Lewis of the Patriots, Weston Richburg of the Giants and Ryan Jensen of the Ravens are potential targets. Wide receiver is an interesting position for the Jets, too. They have solid depth there but could use a No. 1 receiver like Allen Robinson or Sammy Watkins if the price is right.
On defense, cornerback is the top position of need for the Jets. The Rams' Trumaine Johnson or the Patriots' Malcolm Butler could be players the Jets covet. They also may need an inside linebacker if they cannot re-sign Demario Davis, who is asking for big money.
Davis is one of a few of their own free agents the Jets are trying to re-sign along with cornerback Morris Claiborne and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
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