the due date for exercising a 5th year option is coming up this May. For those unfamiliar with the way this works, the 5th year option refers to a teams option to keep a former first round player on their rookie deals an additional year, albeit at a higher price determined by veteran salaries at their particular position and that particular players draft position. (top 10 picks get the average of all top 10 salaries, players chosen 11th through 32nd get an average of the 3rd through 25th highest salaries) Wilkerson's option, a bargain at about 7 million, was an easy choice to exercise last year, now its Coples turn, and really I could see it go either way. first thing I should mention is that, if last year is any indication, this should be worth about 7 mill for Coples, as thats the approximate cost LB's and DL's made last season. (I believe he'd be treated as a LB because thats the position he played the most BTW) i'm not 100% sure what the number is now, but I assume not much more than that, its hard to calculate as I don't even know if they're going by cap hit, cash payouts or what. more info would be a great help if somebody knows. With that in mind, After debating the idea a bit, I say go do it. theres little risk to extending him as 5th year option's are un-guaranteed till the next league year. Thus if we find he's not worth the cost, we can cut ties no strings attached. meanwhile not giving him the option risks his price being over inflated by free agency, especially if he has a high sack total in this blitz happy D we've got going on. plus we can just as easily restructure his deal in an extension under no duress next year if he's under contract, should we not feel comfortable with his 2016 cap hit. thoughts?
I agree and say 'do it'. Plus we may need him to take MoWilk's place. But I can also see him traded to Tennessee in a month.
Trade Coples to the Bills. Rex Ryan is only man stupid enough to play a 290 lb DE/DT (Coples) at OLB and then watch him miss trying to chip the receivers (who just blow by him). Move Coples (either back to the DL or in the draft) while he still has (some) limited value.
Exercise the 5 year and treat it like a SHOW ME one year deal. If he doesn't improve in the new defense we can let him walk after 2016
Interesting situation...I think it too depends on what we do with draft picks. Do we select a OLB? I think you pick his option up regardless and perhaps use him as trade bait if they have surplus of decent LBs....
It's a shame we don't run a 4-3. It was and still is a questionable pick in the first place.. he is not a 3-4 DE (he was okay here) nor a 3-4 OLB (bad) but he could be really good as a 4-3 DE. I would excercise him based on the potential of Bowles finding him a way to get involved.
I still think Copies has a chance to be great,The thing about Coples is we have seen flashes of greatness from him but he seems to dissapear on a lot of plays and take some plays off.Hopefully Bowles figures out how to utilize him better
Let him walk next year and hopefully be very successful in another teams 43 scheme, then the Jets could quite possibly get either a 3 or 4 pick which is more than they'd ever get in a trade at this point
Coples performed much better inside than outside when he was at UNC. So what makes you think he will thrive as an edge rusher - especially when he was more effective inside than outside in college?
coples is a talented but lazy player. he was that in college, and he has become that in the pros. its a shame because he COULD be a very good player if used correctly and when he plays full speed. however he tends to get lost in his own mind and doesnt perform at 100 percent effort.
I would like to see what he can do at his natural position with a different coach this year (even if its as a back up). The problem with Rex was that he thought he could put "square pegs into circles". Early on, it worked, but in the last few years, it didnt..for example, using 2 strong safeties instead of one free safety, drafting Calvin Pryor and forcing him to play fs, Playing Antonio Allen at Cb costs us a bunch of games, and playing Couples at LB.. Let's see what the new regime can do w Couples.
He's definitely not worth $7M. Coples is a solid run stuffer, that's about it. He is way too inconsistent from game to game to give him any kind of major deal. I'd give him a one year trial under Bowles to see if he can take his game to a higher level. Coples comes up with this one bone crushing hit about once every 3 or 4 games. Not nearly enough steady production out of him. I also totally agree with the poster above who said that he's a 280 lb OLB which is retarded for him. His strength is man up and holding the line and stuffing the run. He's not a true edge rusher, not even close. I hope the Jets could trade him for any kind of value. I'd even take a 4th or 5th rounder for him at this point. I cringe every time I watch Chandler Jones and think that we could've had him instead of Doples, I mean Coples. One year trial under Bowles. If he's just mehh, then cut bait with him. Definitely not worth $7M at this point.
When Wilkerson got hurt last year and Coples slid into his spot, there was almost no dropoff in production. Coples is somewhat a victim of the roster configuration. He's effective certainly, but with Wilkerson and Richardson around it's difficult to slot him into his proper position.
