New York Jets Offseason Moves: Are They Becoming Raiders East?

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the New York Jets are hosting free-agent running back Chris Johnson. Are we headed for another “dream team” like we saw the Philadelphia Eagles attempt in 2011? That worked out well. Or do we have an East coast version of the Oakland Raiders? Let’s take a look at the New York Jets offseason moves and whether they’re becoming Raiders east?

Former Titans RB Chris Johnson is visiting the Jets right now, per team sources who spotted him in the teams' training facility.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 15, 2014

As USA Today Sports points out, Vince Young got grilled hard for making his “dream team” comment, but it did make for good humor. The Eagles were desperate to add bigger names, and some people thought guys like Vince Young were the answer. They were wrong.

This dream team was a nightmare. Photo – cbssports.com

The Jets appear to be doing the same thing as the Eagles. They’ve signed Michael Vick, Eric Decker and Breno Giacomini. Last season, they took in Ed Reed, Kellen Winslow, Josh Cribbs, and David Garrard. Alright, so maybe some of these signings make a little bit of sense (key word: “maybe.”). What is the value of these players at the time of their arrival with the Jets?

Not increasing, that’s for sure.

For Jets fans, it has to feel like a bunch of band-aid moves that are setting up to hurt real bad once they’re pealed off. If they add Johnson, the Jets will be flirting dangerously close to “Raider level.” The Raiders have made some notoriously awful moves in free agency in recent years. Most notable: Javon Walker, Aaron Brooks, and Matt Leinart. They traded for Randy Moss, paired him with Kerry Collins, and that failed too. Heck, they even convinced Carson Palmer to come out of retirement and worked out a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Maybe Cincinnati wasn’t so bad…

This offseason, the Raiders are after it again. They’ve signed Maurice Jones-Drew, Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley. They also traded a sixth-round pick for Houston Texans quarterback, Matt Schaub. Can we say Super Bowl?! No, probably not.

Do any of these players really make the Raiders that much better? Maybe. The same question can be asked regarding the Jets. Does signing Johnson really help the Jets in their plans to become relevant again? Vick, Decker and Giacomini may help a little, but are they worth the investments? Are the Jets feeling pressure from their fan base to make moves for the sake of making moves? We’ll have to wait and see.