Shaun Ellis is the longest tenured New York Jet. He has been with the team since 2000. He was the first player in the first round of that year's Draft that netted the Jets four starters.
Originally selected to play defensive end in Mike Nolan's 3-4 defense, Ellis switched to end in Herman Edwards' 4-3. Herm played around with moving him to tackle after the team took Bryan Thomas, but that was not a success. Ellis rotated back to 3-4 end once Eric Mangini arrived. He has made the Pro Bowl playing end in both schemes in 2003 as a 4-3 guy and in 2009 as a 3-4 guy.
Ellis has been consistent during his time in green and white. He broke the 10 sack mark in 2003 and 2004. He went over 8 twice more.
The 33 year old is now an unrestricted free agent and potentially looking at his last chance to score a big pay day just as the only professional team he has ever known has emerged as a contender. Both team and player have a decision to make.