New York Jets Lose Steve Weatherford and Drew Coleman in Free Agency; Vernon Gholston Goes to the Bears

In other news, the Jets lost a pair of peripheral free agents today, Steve Weatherford and Drew Coleman.

Weatherford is staying in New York. He will punt for the Giants.

 

Steve Weatherford has reached agreement on a new contract with the Giants. Weatherford (@weatherford9) tweeted this: "I'm on my way back to NYC but my helmet has changed. I'm excited to get the opportunity to help this prestigious franchise win a world title."

 

Part of me can't help but feel that the Jets kept the wrong kicker. It would have been nice to have held onto him for another year to see whether his breakout 2010 was a career turning point. His athleticism will be missed on fake punts (then again, maybe not judging by the picture on this post). I get that the Jets are looking to save money any way they can, though. They have a cheaper guy they like in T.J. Conley. The real question is who steps up to buy the Shake Weights this year.

This is a good move for the Giants. Every time I watched Matt Dodge punt last year, I said aloud, "What does this guy have to do to get cut?

In other news, Drew Coleman is headed to Jacksonville for 3 years and a max value of $7.4 million. I appreciate the way Drew improved this year, but I don't think his performance merited any kind of substantial deal. Kyle Wilson was not great his rookie year, but he doesn't have much to improve to potentially be an internal upgrade.

Finally, the Bears signed Vernon Gholston. Good luck with that one, Chicago. If he couldn't produce under two coaches (one of whom might be the best defensive talent developer in football), two schemes, and two positions, things look kind of bleak for you.