The New York Jets don’t have the cash to pay Muhammad Wilkerson what he thinks he deserves, but could the franchise use this financial roadblock to land a franchise passer?
According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the answer is quite possibly, yes.
As disruptive and talented as Wilkerson is on the field, the Jets struck gold when they drafted Leonard Williams with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft.
According to Mehta, the franchise is considering whether or not Williams can replace Wilkerson, and whether or not Sheldon Richardson will be able to stay out of trouble after his off-field issues this past summer. Early returns suggest Williams most certainly could replace Wilkerson, but the latter question isn’t as easy to answer.
That said, there is no doubt the Jets will be hard-pressed to meet Wilkerson’s contract demands, which Mehta calls “irreconcilable.”
Instead of signing Wilkerson to a long-term deal, he believes there is a way the Jets could use the outrageously talented defensive lineman as leverage to land a top draft pick, which could be used to land a top quarterback.
“The Jets would have to slap the non-exclusive franchise tag on the defense lineman during a two-week window beginning Feb. 22. It’s highly unlikely that any team would give up the required two first-round picks to pry away Wilkerson, but the Jets could trade him after he signs the tender,” Mehta wrote.
This strategy has merit. Wilkerson is easily one of the top defensive linemen in the NFL. However, there is one problem with the idea: Most teams picking at the top are there because they, too, do not have a franchise passer.
Any team that is willing to make such a deal with New York to land Wilkerson at the cost of giving up high draft picks would have to either be confident in their own quarterback or dissatisfied with the quarterbacks coming into the draft in 2016.
Given the fact that many draft people are as high on Cal’s Jared Goff, the second stipulation isn’t likely.
So, while the Jets could potentially make a deal to land a quarterback, using Wilkerson as trade bait, there is certainly a risk to such a strategy. Wilkerson would have to first sign the franchise tag, which could be a problem, and if he did sign it, there’s a chance no deal gets done.
This would mean Wilkerson would still be in the same position as he is now with New York, wanting a new contract the organization isn’t willing to give him. As much fun as it is to use Madden-type strategies with real-life players, it rarely works out the way we envision.