Gang Green produced a flurry of activity on the first day of the NFL’s “legal tampering period.”
The Jets snagged a Pro Bowl offensive lineman, added a veteran tight end, retained their All-Pro returner and re-signed one of their running backs.
The headline of the day for GM Joe Douglas’ team was the move to bring former San Francisco 49ers guard Laken Tomlinson to the Big Apple to help bolster the offensive line, a source confirmed to the Daily News. ESPN was the first to report the news. The 30-year-old agreed a three-year, $40 million deal with $27 million guaranteed.
The NFL’s new business year begins Wednesday and that’s when all these deals can become official.
Next up they agreed to re-sign wide receiver Braxton Berrios to a two-year, $12 million deal with seven million guaranteed.
Berrios produced in a contract year last season, with 46 catches for 431 yards with four total offensive touchdowns and a kick return TD against the Jaguars. He earned first-team All-Pro honors as a kick returner by finishing with the third most kickoff return yards (852) and had the highest average per return in the NFL (30.4 yards, minimum 20 returns). This helped him cash in during free agency.
He showed he could produce in a larger role when the Jets lost Jamison Crowder, Corey Davis and Elijah Moore for periods of time. In the final game of the season against the Buccaneers, Berrios finished with eight catches for 65 yards with a receiving and rushing touchdown.
The Jets’ wide receiving corps now stands as follows: Davis, Moore, Berrios and Denzel Mims. With Braxton re-signing, that all but guarantees Crowder is leaving the Jets as The News reported last week.
The Jets still need to add a big-time wide receiver whether it’s through the draft or free agency, to provide Zach Wilson with as many weapons as possible. With the way the receiver market is setting up, the draft is likely the better route.
But Douglas did make a move later Monday to add another weapon for Wilson by agreeing to sign former Cincinnati Bengal tight end C.J Uzomah. The deal for Uzomah will be three-years, $24 million.
Uzomah, 28, finished with 493 yards with five touchdowns in 2021, both career bests. Uzomah is a seventh year pro and will bring veteran leadership to the Jets offense. The former fifth-rounder out of Auburn has 1,591 career yards and 13 touchdowns.
Gang Green’s tight end room struggled to produce in 2021 due to both injury and lack of talent. Tyler Kroft and Ryan Griffin combined for 434 yards and three touchdowns. This hampered the rookie quarterback because he rarely had a safety net over the middle to dump the ball to.
Uzomah can be an difference maker as he has caught 70% of his targets for his career.
Switching over to the trenches, adding Tomlinson is a major upgrade from what the Jets dealt with at right guard in 2021. Greg Van Roten struggled tremendously in run and pass blocking. Van Roten allowed 33 pressures, sixth most in the NFL for a guard.
The Jets benched Van Roten for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, whom they traded for midseason. Duvernay-Tardif was solid, but the Jets felt they needed to upgrade.
Tomlinson, who earned his first Pro Bowl selection last season, is also familiar with the Jets offensive system since he played in San Francisco since 2017. He was originally drafted in the first round by the Detroit Lions in 2015. Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur spent four seasons on the offensive staff in San Fran before joining Robert Saleh in New Jersey.
This addition should bolster the run, provide Michael Carter with more running lanes and give Wilson cleaner pockets to throw from.
The potential for the Jets offensive line for 2022 is promising.
If Mekhi Becton can fully recover from his knee injury and lock in mentally, along with Alijah Vera-Tucker who flashed as a rookie, and George Fant continues to play at the strong level from 2021, the Jets will have arguably the best offensive line in the AFC East.
The Jets also brought back players in the backfield, including Tevin Coleman on a one-year deal. Fullback Nick Bawden also agreed to a one-year deal.
