Before last season kicked off, the New York Jets had Super Bowl aspirations. Four snaps into their season, their hopes of winning a Lombardi Trophy were torn, along with Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles.
But now that the four-time NFL MVP is set to return, the Jets are back to being all-in on their championship goals. They’ve collected an impressive batch of young and experienced talent, but Jets general manager Joe Douglas is never done adding to Gang Green’s roster.
In past years, we’ve seen the Jets add former Pro Bowl talents such as Kwon Alexander and Dalvin Cook after the draft when most thought the rosters were largely set. Could the Jets do the same thing this summer?
A recent mailbag by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer highlighted Douglas’ tendency to load up the roster with high-end free agents before the season kicks off. In doing so, Breer noted that two-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons could be an ideal fit.
“I’m looking at the current crop of free agents and (Justin) Simmons makes a lot of sense to me. And I’d have said Ryan Tannehill, before remembering that Taylor landed there. Tight end would be the other spot to look at. Maybe Logan Thomas would make sense for them (you’d think that if, given his relationship with Rodgers, Robert Tonyan was coming aboard, it’d have already happened).”
SI’s Albert Breer on New York Jets/Justin Simmons
A second-team All-Pro defender in each of the past three seasons, Simmons has been looking for a new team since the Denver Broncos released their starting safety in a cost-cutting move on March 7.
Simmons, 30, has played eight seasons, but his play has slipped a bit as of late. Last year, Pro Football Focus charted Simmons with a sub-par 63.4 coverage grade, ranking 35th among safeties with 50% or more snaps played.
If coach Robert Saleh has interest in adding Simmons to the Jets’ secondary, then he likely already has a role in mind for the ball-hawking safety with 19 interceptions in the past four seasons.
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