There is a new high-end receiver the Jets should consider in free agency.
Mike Williams, who was waived by the salary-cap-strapped Chargers on Wednesday, is one of the few options that would definitely outstrip Allen Lazard as the No. 2 receiver.
Lazard was one of last offseason’s free agent prizes, but he failed to live up to expectations (23 catches, 311 yards, one touchdown) on a four-year, $44 million contract.
Williams, 29, topped 1,000 yards in 2019 and 2021 and averaged 15.6 yards per catch in seven seasons.
As with many free agents, the risk is injury concerns.
Williams’ strong start to last season, with 19 catches for 249 yards and one touchdown in three games, was cut short on September 24 when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He has also dealt with varying degrees of ankle, back, hamstring and shoulder injuries. throughout his career.
The Jets appeared to have their top free agent receiver, Calvin Ridley, never in a game. Ridley reportedly agreed to a four-year, $92 million contract with the Titans.
Only two other receivers have agreed to large contracts, and the Jaguars’ Gabe Davis and the Falcons’ Darnell Mooney both feel like they are being overpaid at $13 million per year.
Odell Beckham Jr., who was underdelivered on a $15 million contract with the Ravens last season, is available again after flirting with the Jets last offseason. Like Beckham, Michael Thomas was better than Williams in his prime, but there are red flags for both of them to outperform their rivals.
Other productive options include Tyler Boyd, DJ Chark, Aaron Rodgers’ former Packers teammate Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and the released Hunter Renfroe.
Fan-favorite punter Thomas Morstead has re-signed.
The two-year contract is reportedly worth more than $5 million.
Morstead averaged 48.8 yards per punt, the second-best mark in his 15-year career, and completed 36 of his NFL-high 99 attempts inside the 20-yard line last season.
Two years after joining the Jets from the Buccaneers, safety Jordan Whitehead is heading back in a different direction.
Whitehead, 26, has reportedly agreed to return to Tampa Bay on a two-year, $9 million contract worth up to $10.5 million.
That’s less than the two-year, $14.5 million deal he signed with the Jets in 2022.
The Jets were comfortable letting Whitehead go after last season’s starter Tony Adams improved and re-signed Chuck Clark this week.
Clark, who started 63 of 96 career games for the Ravens, was acquired by the Jets last March but missed the entire season with a torn ACL.
In a free agent market saturated with safeties, there are still starting options remaining. Free agent Ashtyn Davis could return as a backup and special teamer.
DT Javon Kinlaw’s one-year contract is worth $7.25 million, including $6.91 million in guaranteed money.
That’s an impressive number, considering Kinlaw has five sacks in 41 career games with the 49ers (3.5 in 17 games last season), but he’s a former defensive coordinator for Jets head coach Robert Saleh. He was a first-round draft pick in 2020.
TE CJ Uzomah was officially released with a failed physical designation.
