Larry Brown Sports

Just in case you didn’t think the New York Jets circus could get any nuttier, we have this nugget to pass along. According to Conor Orr of The Star-Ledger, the Jets have discussed JaMarcus Russell.

Russell was the No. 1 overall pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2007 and hasn’t played in the league since the 2009 season. He reportedly is interested in making a comeback, and the Jets have “had some very exploratory, informal discussions” about him, according to Orr.

Orr notes these discussions took place after GM Mike Tannenbaum was let go.

The Jets have said they plan to bring in competition for Mark Sanchez at quarterback next season. Who figured that it might be Russell?

I suppose it’s worth giving Russell a look at quarterback depending on who you are. If you’re an established organization that has a strong head coaching figure, it can’t hurt to see how Russell looks. But if you’re an out-of-control organization that lacks discipline and structure — ahem, the Jets — you stay as far away from this guy as possible.

Russell had a notoriously poor work ethic with the Raiders, an alleged codeine problem, and he is currently overweight. He is the last place the Jets should be looking for answers, but then again, this is the sort of thing that makes the Jets who they are.

H/T Evan Silva at Rotoworld

Like the rest of us, Darrelle Revis has caught wind of the reports that the New York Jets are exploring the possibility of trading him this offseason. On Thursday afternoon, the three-time All-Pro took to Twitter to share a brief thought about the rumors:

I’m speechless by far but more importantly I feel more upset for the jet nation for having to go through this!!!

— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) January 24, 2013

Revis has had his share of ups and downs with regard to his contract since the Jets drafted him in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He has already held out once, and he flirted with the idea of doing it again prior to the 2012 season. If the Jets feels that they need more draft picks in order to contend, Revis is the one player that would yield the biggest return.

What’s also interesting to note is that Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager John Idzik, who was introduced to the New York media on Thursday, were given a chance to deny the rumors. Neither one took advantage of the opportunity.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Johnsons said of the report, without clarifying if it was true or not.

Idzik gave a similar response when asked about Revis.

“I think it’s way premature to say anything specific,” he said. “I think it would be presumptuous to say anything on that.”

Idzik gave essentially the same answer when asked about any other potential roster moves regarding players like Mark Sanchez or Tim Tebow. The “sources” that gave the information about the Jets wanting to trade Revis are in all likelihood former GM candidates who didn’t get the job, so there’s no guarantee their information is good. That being said, it wouldn’t exactly be shocking if New York traded its star corner should a good offer come along.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

One of the main reasons the New York Jets have had such an effective defense since Rex Ryan took over the team has been the play of Darrelle Revis. The former first-round pick has established himself as arguably the best defensive player in the game over the past seven seasons, and certainly the game’s top shutdown corner. Fresh off of ACL surgery, Revis could now be used as trade bait.

According to CBSSports.com, sources close to the situation say that Jets owner Woody Johnson has serious concerns about the team’s ability to sign Revis to a contract extension when his deal expires after the 2013 season (he is “signed” through 2016 but the final three years are voidable). The 27-year-old is set to earn $6 million in 2013, and New York is not exactly in an ideal salary cap situation heading into next season.

Johnson has reportedly made it “very clear” that he would like one of new general manager John Idzik’s first priorities to be exploring how much value the team could get in return for Revis, likely in the form of draft picks.

The torn ACL Revis suffered back in September is likely to be a concern for some teams, but there will be plenty of suitors who will be willing to give up high draft picks for the prospect of securing a cornerstone for their defense. Aside from Revis, the Jets don’t really have the type of superstar players that would yield them the same return that trading the cornerback would. If the team is looking to rebuild after an incredibly disappointing 2012 season (and possibly draft a new quarterback), it makes sense that trading Revis would be a starting point.

Photo credit: Kevin Hoffman-US PRESSWIRE

Whatever plan the New York Jets had in place when they traded for Tim Tebow, it failed miserably. Tebow did nothing in New York aside from giving the media something else to talk about, and it’s unlikely he’ll be with the team next season. The person who made the decision to bring him in made a huge mistake, but who was that person?

If it was Rex Ryan, you’d have to assume the Jets head coach would have given Tebow more opportunities to contribute. With that in mind, the decision had to have been made by the team’s ownership group with the interest of selling more tickets and merchandise in mind, right? Not according to former Denver Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist, who claims team owner Woody Johnson did not want Tebow. From ESPNNewYork.com:

Former Broncos GM Ted Sundquist, who interviewed for the job nine days ago, said Johnson told him it wasn’t his idea. According to Sundquist, Johnson said the trade was “forced” on them — meaning him and team president Neil Glat, who also participated in the interview. That makes it sound like Johnson was blaming former GM Mike Tannenbaum for the Tebow debacle; in a sense, Johnson did exactly that, firing Tannenbaum. Johnson also said, according to Sundquist, that he eventually “jumped on board” with the idea, deferring to his football people.

Even if the Tebow acquistion was Tannenbaum’s idea, how does a team’s owner have something forced on him? We’ve heard of general managers and coaches being forced into things by owners, but doesn’t the guy who is cutting all the checks get the final say?

Regardless of who spearheaded the whole “bring on Tim Tebow” initiative, people like this former Jets employee have reminded us that nothing good came of the move. At this point, it doesn’t really matter who was responsible. The Jets simply need to move on.

Former New York Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff, who recently announced that he is retiring, was one of a number of people who had a first-hand look at the failure that was the Tim Tebow situation in New York this past season. On Friday morning, Westhoff appeared on WQAM Sports Radio in Miami and pulled no punches when discussing where it all went wrong.

“It was a mess, it was an absolute mess,” he said, via USA Today. “You can say whatever else you want, it was really a mess. I was very, very disappointed. As an NFL quarterback, he’s very limited in some things. And if you throw him right in the middle of a drop-back passing offense, he will look very, very average at best. But if you incorporate him in different facets of your offense, I think he can be a factor. That’s what I felt we were going to do, but we never did it.”

That’s obviously what the Jets planned to do, as evidenced by the recent revelation that the team intended to use Tebow as a running back in traditional formations. Westhoff said he expected to see Tebow line up at various positions all over the field but that it simply never happened — in practice or during a game.

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Tim Tebow and the New York Jets are parting ways after what developed into a disappointing season for both parties. Tebow accepted a trade to the Jets — and actually picked them over the Jacksonville Jaguars — because he believed he would have a good chance of becoming the starting quarterback there. Though Mark Sanchez’s poor play certainly merited a quarterback switch, Tebow never got a shot to play QB. In fact, he was skipped over on the depth chart by Greg McElroy when Sanchez finally was benched on two occasions late in the season.

Tebow’s primary work with the Jets came on special teams. He only threw eight passes all season, and he appeared in fewer than 80 offensive plays. By the time the season ended, many people wondered why the Jets bothered acquiring Tebow if they hardly planned to use him. Though we still don’t have an answer to that question, a report from USA Today’s Mike Garafolo says the Jets originally intended to use Tebow as a running back.

Here’s what Garafolo stated in his report:

The team had visions of lining up Tebow at running back in traditional sets when they acquired him via trade from the Denver Broncos last March, according to a person with knowledge of the team’s plans at the time of the trade. The person, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the Jets didn’t divulge that plan, said it involved more than the shotgun look and was intended to “give (Tebow) the ball and play at times just like (Shonn) Green and (Bilal) Powell” were used.
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The Jets’ original vision to use Tebow as a running back was more than just in an emergency situation. They believed Tebow the running back could be an integral part of their game plans.

Head coach Rex Ryan did mention at one point during the season when the Jets were dealing with injuries to their running backs that Tebow could line up in that position, but that never materialized. It’s also unclear why this plan never took off.

What we do know is that when Tebow saw action in games, he was often used as a running quarterback. It’s clear that the Jets valued that part of his game much more than his passing.

If the Jets’ original intention was to use Tebow as a running back, then they truly did mislead the aspiring quarterback.

Tim Tebow was bashed by many teammates during the season, but there is at least one Jets player who believes in him. Defensive lineman Mike DeVito says he wishes Tebow got a shot to lead the team.

DeVito made his comments during an interview with WFAN’s Evan Roberts and Joe Benigno on Friday.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel for Tim and how it went down,” DeVito said. “I don’t make the decisions as far as who goes in there. I’m not qualified to do that, and I trust the guys that we have to do that, but Tim has such an intangible in the type of leader and the type of person that he is. I feel like it makes everybody around him play at a higher level. I would have liked to see him get a chance.”

The Jets went 6-10 this season and quarterback Mark Sanchez turned the ball over a league-worst 26 times. He was benched during his poor performance in Week 13 against the St. Louis Rams. Tebow was out with a rib injury that game, and Greg McElroy got the chance to replace him. Then Tebow was passed over in favor of McElroy again in Week 16.

Tebow only got to attempt eight passes all season. Head coach Rex Ryan said after the season he didn’t feel like Tebow could have helped the team win. DeVito thinks much higher of Tebow.

“I think he’s a great leader, I think he’s a guy that could have won games for us, and I think that’s why we had him here,” DeVito said. “… I really do feel like with Tim at the helm, there is an aspect of it that you can’t really put into words, but guys just want to rally behind him. And when you put Tim in that leadership role, that’s where he excels … I think (if) you put Tim in there, I think we win games. I really believe that.”

Though DeVito expressed his support for Tebow, he said he feels like Sanchez could get back to winning if he gets his receivers back healthy.

We agree with most of what DeVito said. It made no sense for the Jets to bring in Tebow and never use him, especially given how poorly Sanchez played throughout the season. We have little doubt Tebow would have made them more competitive.

Helmet smack to Black Sports Online