The Jets are open to re-signing linebacker Kwon Alexander, as ESPN’s Rich Cimini tweets. Cimini adds that the two sides have remained in touch throughout the offseason.
Alexander, who is entering his age-28 season, agreed to a veteran-minimum contract with New York last July. In his first season as a member of Gang Green, the LSU product appeared in all 17 games (12 starts) and posted 69 tackles. Pro Football Focus assigned him an overall score of 63.0, which positioned him as the 44th-best LB among 81 qualifiers.
With Aaron Rodgers now in the fold, the Jets profile as legitimate championship contenders in 2023. Though the club missed the postseason last year, it still fielded the fourth-best defense in the league in terms of both yards allowed and points allowed, and after re-signing Quincy Williams in March, it stands to reason that the Jets would want to keep the third member of their C.J. Mosley/Williams/Alexander linebacker triumvirate intact. The fact that Alexander could likely be had for another modest contract — there have been no public reports of outside interest in him this offseason — makes him more attractive.
Plus, the draft did not do much to bolster New York’s LB corps. GM Joe Douglas did add a linebacker, Western Michigan’s Zaire Barnes, in the fifth round, but Barnes does not profile as a player that will immediately command significant snaps on the defensive side of the ball. He joins 2021 Day 3 draftees Jamien Sherwood and Hamsah Nasirildeen and reserve/futures signee Chazz Surratt as the only other ‘backers on the roster. That group combined to play 42 defensive snaps in 2022.
Another selling point for Alexander is that he holds up well in coverage. having yielded QB ratings of 81.5 and 89.5 over the past two seasons. He may not be the same player he was in 2017, when he earned his first and only Pro Bowl nod, but he remains a capable defender who is already familiar with Robert Saleh‘s high-end defense.
Would love to have Kwon back
He’s going to be solid, and steady. You will win a lot of games with guys like him
Him and two other veterans. That draft left holes
JD should get it done with him. I figure Cobb may be another FOA they’ll bring aboard. They have some cap space thanks to the gymnastics that only counts Aaron as $1.2M against the cap. They don’t have tons of space but they shouldn’t have any cap casualties right now.
I’m not worried about the linebacker position, the team needs to use some of the money to sign Q to a contract extension. A happy Q will mean a productive defense.