New York Jets GM Joe Douglas Was Patient And Bold. Will Both Approaches Work?

Avery Williamson had reached that juncture in his career where not much was guaranteed—figuratively or literally. 

But that changed in an instant when New York Jets star inside linebacker C.J. Mosley chose to opt out of the 2020 NFL season because of concerns about the coronavirus. Now the seventh-year veteran’s presence will be necessary. 

“In this business, you never know what can happen,” Williamson said on a recent Zoom call with reporters when asked about the possibility of being an off-season salary-cap discard. “So, I just tried to ignore the noise and keep on working, just try to stay focused. It’s kind of hard when you don’t have anything to do during a quarantine. 

“Nobody figured that C.J. would opt out,” he added. “I didn’t see it happening.” 

But whether New York general manager Joe Douglas envisioned Mosley’s surprise decision or not, Douglas’ choice to keep Williamson around rather than reap a $6.5 million cap savings looks pretty good right now. No, Williamson is not the every-down stalwart that Mosley was before suffering a groin injury that cost him almost all of the 2019 campaign.  

And Williamson himself is coming off a torn ACL suffered in a 2019 preseason game (remember those?) that sidelined him for the entire season. And even when healthy in 2018, his first year with New York, he was ranked 44th among NFL linebackers in terms of pass coverage by analytics company Pro Football Focus. 

Still, he remains a Jet. And there was no guarantee of that given the financial side of things.

“I’m ready to work,” said Williamson, “and show that I’m back where I was last year and take that next step.” 

Williamson is owed a guaranteed $2 million prorated bonus for this season, per overthecap.com. He currently is on the physically unable to perform list but is expected to be ready for opening day. If, of course, there is one. 

But while Douglas was patient with the inside linebacker position, he took the opposite tack with the offensive line. It is somewhat understandable, considering the Jets allowed 52 sacks last season, fourth-most in the NFL, that Douglas would want to retool the entire unit. 

And that is exactly what he did. With the release last week of veteran Brian Winters, every 2019 opening-day starter has been expunged from the Jets’ roster. Only left guard Alex Lewis, re-signed during free agency, is a returning starter. And because he has not played with any of the other projected starters, this, in essence, will be a brand-new offensive line. 

This would be a risky enough strategy under normal circumstances, made even more so by coronavirus-induced precautions that have resulted in the cancellations of both spring practice and preseason games. Can these guys get on the same page without the benefit of outside competition in time for the opener against Buffalo’s rugged defense? The Bills ranked second in total defense in 2019. 

“I’m sure we’re going to find ways to replicate that intensity and that environment” of preseason games, new right guard Greg Van Roten said on a Zoom call. Van Roten, signed as a free agent from Carolina, takes over Winters’ old job.

Van Roten looks at it as a positive, that rather than preparing for preseason games, “Now we have six weeks to get ready for Buffalo in Week 1.” 

“We’re doing everything we can to build that chemistry,” Lewis said on a Zoom call, citing days with non-padded practices as optimal times to work on “fundamentals and technique,” such as footwork and hand placement.  

Still, it is not the same as the head-to-head confrontations they will be faced with against the Bills, or deciphering the stunts and games the Buffalo defensive line may play. 

If the rebuilt line can keep Sam Darnold upright and productive early in the season, Joe Douglas will look as smart as he did for not saving $6.5 million by cutting Avery Williamson. If not, well…