The last time the New York Jets went to the scouting combine with this much uncertainty at quarterback was 2009, when there was a three-month period between Brett Favre’s departure and Mark Sanchez’s arrival.
Right now, the only two quarterbacks under contract are Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg. Translation: They need a starter.
Bryce Petty is the only QB under contract with the Jets who has played in an NFL game. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Speaking to reporters Thursday at the combine, coach Todd Bowles said both players will have an opportunity to compete for the No. 1 job.
“They’ll have a chance,” said Bowles, providing no explanation.
Frankly, that sounds like lip service from a notoriously tight-lipped coach. It’s hard to imagine Petty (four career starts) or Hackenberg (zero career snaps) as the opening-day starter, but Bowles wasn’t about to tip his hand with free agency only a week away.
Asked if he will sign a free agent, Bowles said, “We’re looking into it. We have our eye on a few people.”
Free agent Alshon Jeffery is looking to sign with a contender, the wide receiver told ESPN’s Josina Anderson on Thursday.
Jeffery, 27, is poised to test the free-agent market after the Chicago Bears declined to apply the franchise tag. The Bears would have been on the hook for approximately $17.5 million guaranteed in 2017 had they exercised the tag for a second straight year.
“I don’t have any hard feelings towards the Bears — it’s all love,” Jeffery said. “Whatever the next chapter is, I’m ready for it. I’m looking at the teams that obviously need a wide receiver, but also put me in the best situation to win a championship right now. I also want to see what other free agents may be attracted to the same teams I’ll be looking at. That can help that goal.”
General manager Ryan Pace said the Bears are interested in re-signing Jeffery when the new league year begins, but two sides did not discuss any parameters of a long-term agreement following the 2016 season. Chicago is expected to meet with Jeffery’s agent at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
The Bears do have exclusive negotiating rights with Jeffery until March 7, but a deal will not get done before free agency begins.
“Well, I’d say he knows us better than anybody else he could potentially go to,” Bears coach John Fox said at the combine. “I think it’s a positive feeling. With typically these things, it comes down to the market value. It’s like walking into a store right now at this time of year and there are no price tags. We kind of develop that moving forward. My experience has been that’s a very fluid process.”
Jeffery was the NFL’s second-highest paid receiver last year at $14.599 million, but Jeffery technically pocketed less because he served a four-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Alshon Jeffery has 304 catches and 26 touchdowns in 63 career games with the Bears. Daniel Bartel/Icon Sportswire
There is no telling what Jeffery’s free agent contract is going to look like. Players typically are overpaid in free agency, and Jeffery’s situation figures to be no different, especially with the NFL’s salary cap expanding to $167 million. Also, top-flight receivers in their prime rarely make it to free agency, which is another reason why the interest level in Jeffery could be high.
From 2013-14, Jeffery combined for 174 receptions, 2,554 yards and 17 touchdowns. He played in just nine games in 2015 (54-807-4) due to a variety of soft issue injuries, and missed four games last year (52-821-2) because of the suspension.
Jeffery has yet to appear in a playoff game after five seasons with the Bears. Chicago is 9-23 the last two seasons under Fox.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has spent much of the offseason in Atlanta working on the strength and flexibility of his throwing shoulder, which was a factor in the worst season of his career in 2016.
The 2015 NFL MVP got an MRI on his right shoulder in mid-December that showed no structural damage, but the shoulder was sore enough that Newton didn’t throw early in the week during practice prior to the final three games.
Since the end of the season, Newton has continued to work on improving the shoulder with strength and conditioning experts in his hometown.
“I’d like to see him more flexible more than anything else, especially through the shoulders,” Carolina coach Ron Rivera told reporters at the NFL combine in Indianapolis on Thursday.
“That seemed to be where he had a lot of his problems, is getting that shoulder strength back up, getting that shoulder flexibility back, more so than anything else.”
Cam Newton had the worst season of his career in 2016, completing just 52.9 percent of his passes and throwing just 19 touchdowns. Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports
Newton completed only 47.6 percent of his passes over the final seven games, including 37.04 against San Diego, which was the second-worst percentage of his career.
He finished the season with a career-low 52.9 completion percentage, throwing only 19 touchdowns just a year after a career-best 35.
Rivera said he’ll be excited to see how Newton has progressed when players report for voluntary offseason workouts on April 17.
Rivera said he’d also like to see the 6-5 quarterback, who played around 260 pounds last season, “continue to keep himself at a specific weight that he feels comfortable.”
Rivera didn’t say what that weight would be.
He added that the focus this offseason remains on evolving the offense to where Newton is less of a necessity in the running game out of the read-option than he has been since Carolina made him the top pick of the 2011 draft.
Newton’s 3,566 rushing yards and 48 rushing touchdowns are the most by a quarterback since 2011. He also has been hit far more times than any quarterback in the league during that span because of his involvement in the running game.
Rivera has no doubt Newton will buy into the new philosophy that has Carolina looking strongly at running backs at the combine.
“He wants the football, but again, we have to be very dogged in terms of what we’re going to do with him and how we’re going to do it,” Rivera said. “We have to pick and choose. It’s got to be the right situation and circumstance [for him to run].
“But again, he wants to succeed. He wants to do things to help this football team win, and I believe he’s going to do the things he needs to do, and the right thing.”
General manager Dave Gettleman said on Wednesday that from everything he understood, Newton was in Atlanta “doing well.”
Asked specifically about Newton spending much of last offseason filming his Nickelodeon television show “All in With Cam Newton” — something he doesn’t seem to be doing this year — Gettleman said that players can do whatever they want with their free time.
“Some guys like to play video games,” he said. “Some guys like to do Nickelodeon shows.”
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert is keeping an open mind and is ready for all scenarios regarding Ben Roethlisberger.
1 Related
“He’s excited to finish his career in Pittsburgh,” agent Bill Parise told ESPN.
Harrison, 38, injected life into the Steelers’ defense late last season with 7.5 sacks in his last 11 games, including playoff contests against the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
Harrison, who outplayed his previous two-year, $2.75 million contract, has lost some speed from previous years, but he has maintained his elite strength, which he uses along with veteran savvy to effectively rush the passer.
He has become part of the fabric of Steelers football. He and coach Mike Tomlin are very close, and Harrison’s presence bought the Steelers time to develop young pass-rushers in recent years.
Although Harrison considered retirement after the 2015 season, he came out sternly in January with the message, “I’m not done.”
