3 former NY Jets who won’t live up to their new contracts
These former Jets might not live up to their contracts
The NFL is a league of assets. It’s about knowing when to invest in your current assets just as much as it’s about knowing when to cut bait with said assets. This, of course, applies to the NY Jets as well.
The Jets have parted ways with a number of notable players in recent years. Some of those players went on to achieve great things post-Florham Park, with someone like Demario Davis standing out as a primary example.
Others failed to reach the same heights they did in New York and ultimately fell short of expectations with their new teams. Here’s looking at you, Jamal Adams.
Free agency is a gambling man’s game, and the following three players are evidence of that. Here are three former Jets players who might not live up to the contracts they signed with their new teams this offseason.
3. Sheldon Rankins, DT, Cincinnati Bengals
2 years, $24.5 million ($8 million)
When the Jets signed defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins to a two-year, $17 million contract prior to the start of the 2021 season, the former first-round pick was hoping to revitalize his once-promising career.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh helped him do that, maximizing his pass-rush talents en route to a successful two seasons with the organization. The Jets let Rankins walk in the 2023 offseason — largely because of the hefty one-year, $10.5 million contract he signed with the Houston Texans.
Rankins parlayed his success with the Jets into a sizable pay raise in Houston, and he put together another solid season under DeMeco Ryans. A free agent again this offseason, Rankins once again received a pay raise, this time in the form of a two-year, $24.5 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Rankins is a quality interior pass rusher, although his struggles against the run are notable. Over $12 million per season is a lot to pay a guy whose production is remarkably similar to someone like Quinton Jefferson, who signed a $3.6 million this offseason.
Credit to Rankins for revitalizing his career and received a few pay days now, but it’ll be tough for him to live up to that contract.
2. Sam Darnold, QB, Minnesota Vikings
1 year, $10 million ($8.75 million guaranteed)
Of all the quarterback contracts given out this offseason, the one awarded to former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold might be the most confusing.
Darnold spent last season in San Francisco as Brock Purdy’s backup, and despite starting just one game, whatever he did in 2023 was enough to convince the Minnesota Vikings to hand him a one-year, $10 million contract in free agency.
The Vikings see Darnold as a potential starting option — a likely bridge quarterback to help develop the rookie QB they’re expected to target in the draft. Reports suggest the Vikings see Darnold as someone who could even have a Baker Mayfield-like resurgence in Minnesota.
While it would be a nice story, there’s nothing Darnold has done that suggests that will happen. His development was stunted by a terrible situation in New York and his stint with the Carolina Panthers didn’t exactly change the narrative.
Nonetheless, the Vikings are hoping that Darnold could, at a bare minimum, be a very expensive mentor or, in a perfect world, put together a Mayfield-like season in 2024.
Darnold received the third-highest contract among all quarterbacks in free agency in terms of AAV and total guarantees behind only Kirk Cousins and Gardner Minshew. His 2024 cap hit will be higher than players like Mayfield, Jacoby Brissett, and Minshew.
The Vikings are hoping that Darnold can finally turn the corner in Minnesota, but it feels like they definitely could’ve gone in a different direction.
1. Leonard Williams, DL, Seattle Seahawks
3 years, $64.5 million ($43.85 million)
Leonard Williams is a good NFL player. The former Jets first-round pick has carved out a solid role as an above-average interior defensive lineman, although he’s never been able to return to the Pro Bowl since leaving the Jets in 2019.
His best career season came in 2020 when he finished with a career-high 11.5 sacks in his first full season with the New York Giants. That’s the only season in which Williams has notched more than seven sacks, however.
Williams is an above-average-to-very-good defensive lineman, but those types of players don’t usually get paid over $21 million per season. However, that’s exactly what happened when the Seattle Seahawks extended him this offseason.
The Seahawks were likely hoping to justify the hefty price they paid to acquire him in a midseason trade with the New York Giants. That’s the only explanation for the $43.85 million in guarantees they handed him.
Williams is now the fifth-highest-paid defensive end in the entire NFL behind only Nick Bosa, Myles Garrett, Montez Sweat, and Maxx Crosby. His AAV is higher than players like Trey Hendrickson, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Haason Reddick, Arik Armstead, and Bryce Huff.
This is despite the fact that Williams finished with just 54 pressures last season — his highest total since 2020. For reference, John Franklin-Myers of the Jets finished with 50 pressures.
Williams is a quality defensive standout and a well-respected locker-room leader, but he’s nowhere close to a top-five defensive end in the NFL. The Seahawks might regret giving him that contract, especially seeing as he turns 30 in June.
