Quincy Enunwa is out for the year with a neck injury, just another steep downgrade on a roster that can ill afford it. It's an unexpected blow to the Jets, a team that has been responsible for most of the other changes that will result in a team that is worse than it was a year ago.
New York has cut a host of veteran starters since the end of last season, both capable (Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker) and at the end of the line (Nick Mangold, Darrelle Revis). While some of the moves can certainly be defended for football reasons -- players who were overpriced or underperformers -- it's apparent the Jets had little intention of being better in 2017.
Of the team's 22 offensive and defensive starters (plus kicker), New York will have a new (and cheaper) starter at 12 of those spots. At six of them, they'll almost certainly be worse. Two of them it's hard to say; they'll be starting rookies. Two more look like lateral moves at best. In only two spots -- left tackle and cornerback -- will they likely be better, and even those moves saved them some money.
| JETS DEPTH CHART, 2016 VERSUS 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | 2016 | 2017 | $$$ | Better/Worse |
| QB | Ryan Fitzpatrick | Josh McCown | Less | Push |
| RB | Matt Forte | Matt Forte | Same | Push |
| WR | Brandon Marshall | Robby Anderson | Less | Worse |
| WR | Eric Decker | Jalin Marshall | Less | Worse |
| WR | Quincy Enunwa | Ardarius Stewart | Less | Worse |
| TE | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | Same | Push |
| LT | Ryan Clady | Kelvin Beachum | Less | Better |
| LG | James Carpenter | James Carpenter | Same | Push |
| C | Nick Mangold | Wesley Johnson | Less | Worse |
| RG | Brian Winters | Brian Winters | Same | Push |
| RT | Breno Giacomini | Ben Ijalana | Less | Worse |
| DE | Muhammad Wilkerson | Muhammad Wilkerson | Same | Push |
| DT | Steve McLendon | Steve McLendon | Same | Push |
| DT | Leonard Williams | Leonard Williams | Same | Push |
| DE | Sheldon Richardson | Sheldon Richardson | Same | Push |
| MLB | David Harris | Demario Davis | Less | Worse |
| SLB | Darron Lee | Darron Lee | Same | Push |
| WLB | Jordan Jenkins | Jordan Jenkins | Same | Push |
| CB | Darrelle Revis | Morris Claiborne | Less | Better |
| FS | Marcus Gilchrist | Marcus Maye | Less | ? |
| SS | Calvin Pryor | Jamal Adams | Less | ? |
| CB | Buster Skrine | Buster Skrine | Same | Push |
| PK | Nick Folk | Chandler Catanzaro | Less | Push |
New York has also been trying to trade Sheldon Richardson since forever. If they ever manage to do that (teams want him to take a paycut, and he has thus far refused), they'll be worse at that spot, too.
--Andy Richardson