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Manish Mehta is reporting that the Jets have come to terms with Quinton Coples, their first round pick. Due to the new rookie pay scale, there wasn't much room for negotiation and the deal was reached much quicker than those from the past. To explain the contract information, I yield to Bent over at The Jets Blog, a man much more knowledgeable than me when it comes to the pay scale:
Even though there was never much doubt that Coples would sign, its still a relief to have him under contract and ready to move forward with the organization. There has been much ink spilled over the vast potential of Quinton Coples, with comparisons ranging from Julius Peppers to Shaun Ellis. With lofty expectations also comes heavy criticism, as Coples has been lambasted for a "lazy" senior year, in which he often appeared disinterested and was accused of taking plays off. For what its worth, he absolutely lit up the Senior Bowl and was listed as the top DE on many draft boards, so his selection seemed like good value at #16, as talents like Coples are usually gone in the Top 8 (where he was projected before his senior year). Another positive: Rex already seems to love the guy:
[Coples is] likely to get just under $9m fully guaranteed and with bonus money of about $4.8m over four years. As a first round pick outside the top ten, there will be a fifth year option that the Jets can exercise after the third year for an amount equal to the average of the top 25 salaries at his position (apart from the top two).
"He's going to start," Ryan said. "He's going to play a ton. Is he going to play every snap? No, I doubt it. But he's going to play a bunch. . . . Start in sub team. Start in this. Start in that. . . . This guy has the athleticism where he's going to start in multiple schemes."
I personally have very high hopes for Coples. Hopefully he proves that he is worthy of all the praise being heaped on him by the coaches, and is motivated enough to dominate opposing lines the way he is capable of. With the Coples signing and the Antonio Allen agreement earlier in the day, the Jets' only unsigned picks are 3rd round pick Demario Davis (linebacker) and 7th round pick Jordan White (wide receiver).