Out of football since his Chargers contract expired in March, Linval Joseph may have an opportunity in a familiar locale. The Jets met with the veteran defensive tackle Friday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Although Joseph’s profile rose during his Vikings stay, he began his career with the Giants. The former Big Blue second-round pick is now a 12-year veteran who would be set for his age-34 season, should a team sign him.
A backup as a rookie, Joseph has been a starter for over a decade now. The Giants, Vikings and Bolts have used the interior D-lineman as a first-stringer 162 times collectively. He broke in as a starter on a Giants team housing one of this era’s most memorable pass rushes, serving as a run-stopping cog for the 2011 Super Bowl champions, and was part of Mike Zimmer‘s defensive core responsible for a run of top-10 rankings during the late 2010s.
Missing more than three games in a season just once during that span, Joseph has been one of the league’s most enduring presences since coming into the league out of East Carolina. He also is not likely hard up for cash.
The U.S. Virgin Islands native spent two seasons with the Chargers, signing a two-year, $17MM deal. Joseph has already signed four NFL contracts — his rookie deal (2010), a five-year Vikings pact (2014), a four-year Minnesota extension worth $50.35MM and the Chargers accord — and was one of the league’s top inside run defenders in his prime. Joseph’s level of play dipped some in Los Angeles, but the Jets are interested to see what he has left.
Gang Green has seen significant improvement up front this season. Quinnen Williams has taken another leap, as evidenced by his dominant outing in the Jets’ upset in Green Bay, and the team’s 2021 Carl Lawson signing is paying dividends a year later. D-tackle Sheldon Rankins and edge player John Franklin-Myers also registered sacks of Aaron Rodgers last week. The team, which used a first-round pick on Jermaine Johnson this year, also rosters former top-three pick Solomon Thomas and veteran Vinny Curry as backups. Joseph would add to this emerging D-line stable, should the Jets feel he has another season in the tank.
Interesting, but the side of need appears to be the other side of the ball.