Jets Announce Tenders

The Jets have announced tenders for restricted free agents.

Restricted Free Agent	Seasons	Compensation Level
WR Braylon Edwards	5	1st- and 3rd-round picks
RB/KR Leon Washington	4	2nd-round pick
WR Brad Smith	4	2nd-round pick
QB Kellen Clemens	4	Original draft round (3rd)*
S Eric Smith	4	Original draft round (3rd)
T Wayne Hunter	5	Original draft round (3rd)
CB Drew Coleman	4	Original draft round (6th)
S James Ihedigbo	3	Original draft round (FA)
DT Howard Green	5	Not tendered
LB Marques Murrell	3	Not tendered
WR Wallace Wright	3	Not tendered

 

Clemens was tendered for his original round, which was the second. His tender becomes a third round one because:

 RFA rules state that because the Jets used at least one second-round tender (on both Brad Smith and Washington), they cannot receive second-round compensation for Clemens. If another team signs Clemens to an offer sheet and the Jets elect not to match that offer, the Jets will get that team’s third-round pick.

We touched on Edwards, Washington, and Brad Smith last night.

The Clemens tender is a bit puzzling to me. I can't see any team willing to give up a third round pick in a Draft this week for a quarterback with a track record of failure. Clemens is a guy a team might roll the dice on with a minimum deal, not give up anything substantive. Do the Jets really want him back? What have they seen? Weren't they so underwhelmed by him that they traded up for Mark Sanchez? He'll probably be back now because I can't see any other team touching him.

Eric Smith's tender is fair. If he finds another team, I say let him go. He's a spare part, and a third round pick has value. If not, he may be a spare part, but he's a useful spare part.

I'd actually like to see Wayne Hunter back. Offensive lines usually don't have all five guys start 35 straight games (including Playoffs). Depth is important. The Jets may get a pick if Hunter goes elsewhere, but they'd have to fill a hole. He was also valuable as a tight end in jumbo sets.

I'm fine with the Drew Coleman tender. Maybe somebody bites, and the Jets get an extra pick to use as trade bait or take a flier on somebody. If not, there are worse things than having a familiar corner in camp.

Ihedigbo I'd like back. I know I called for Rex to cut him after his idiotic penalty in overtime against the Bills, but he did good work as a blitzer on third downs near the end of the year.

Green I could go either way on. He's not terrible, but the Jets cut him midyear for a reason. Murrell and Wright I'd like to see back. I like what they do on special teams. I also want to see how the coaching staff can develop them. Wright in particular reportedly showed signs of development as a receiver in practices last year and has been so valuable through the years as a gunner.