re: Jets organization engaging in "questionable practices" with agents
I hate the Jets, but I really distrust a writer with an agenda as well as a player rep. Combined with all the lies and smoke-screens in FA, it's pretty easy to twist and turn whatever you have into whatever you want.
The Jets could have had serious interest in one FA until something changed, whether a second team got involved, a price tag got out of hand, someone else got cut, et cetera. There's a domino effect that can happen, and one signing changes the dynamics in others.
Would the Broncos have signed Talib if they knew Revis would be available shortly after? What if they pressed Talib hard during the legal tampering window, and then Revis got cut a day sooner? Wouldn't this article be about John Elway instead?
Rodgers-Cromartie declined a big deal from the Broncos, went out to assess his market, and the Broncos moved on with Talib. He couldn't go back and get the original offer because it changed the moment Talib was on-board.
We haven't seen the details of Edelman's deal, but his trip to San Fran sure seemed to sort out a lot of it. Did the pressure change our original deal, or was it a reality check for Jules?
We often judge FA and draft trades and draft picks in a vacuum, independent of each other, but that's not really the case. One signing or one pick can alter the next significantly. You have a top TE near your pick get snagged, you don't necessarily take the next top TE on your list. Maybe the value changes and you select your top remaining DE. You won't move on your price for a FA but when the other top players at his position start signing, your urgency level changes and the price also changes based on what others are doing. It's natural that things change from moment to moment in FA.
So I don't know what to say really. Sanders apparently had a deal with the Chiefs in place and then used it to shop around for a better offer, which he got from the Broncos. It's free agency, it's a lot of talk that only matters once somebody signs. Both sides lie, cheat, and do whatever they can to get the best deal they can. To criticize a GM for changing his position on a player or a group of players over time seems overblown and ridiculous.
Having said that much, the Jets still suck.
