Per the NYJets twitter, washington and jones are both in uniform and playing...maybe a deal has been struck, haven't seen any news nor has his (washington's) agent tweeted about a deal but who knows
Update - his agent just tweeted that he has returned to practice as a good faith sign as negotiations are onging.
I think the issues are around who Leon's agent / Leon is comparing himself to. My assumption is that the Jets don't think Leon is comparable to Sproles or the kid in Jacksonville probably because he hasn't proven he can carry the bulk of the carries for the team as those guys can. That's my guess, more over they are probably trying to structure the contract similar to those 2 since leon & his agent made that their point of comparison, and Tanny probably wants to work the best cap friendly deal for the Jets allowing for future flexibility....
Leon has a point in his comparison to Sproles and MJD but the Jets are not going to open the vault and let him take whatever he wants. The Jets have locked up younger talent in the past and I don't see any reason why they would not amicablly pay Leon. It's just the process. I'm sure all will be fine in the end.
I say pay the man; he has earned it. After he is under contract, expand his role with the team; that does not necessarily mean run the man into the ground, but get more creative on ways to get Leon the ball more often.
It's not even about taking more carries or whatever. If he just does what he's been doing he changes games--keeps us in games we're playing poorly in and salts away games we're doing well in. Except for some fluky plays by guys like Elam or Ellis last year, Leon was the difference maker for our team, even with Jones leading the AFC in rushing.
I agree. I wonder how the new wedge blocking rule will effect his ability to get big kickoff returns and I wonder if that isn't a factor in Tanny not wanting to pay him too much. The kick returners will be much more at risk of getting destroyed with the new rule.
...c'mon, he's not the best player on this team... He's a great kick returner that will never, ever be a feature back. Does he deserve more money? Yes, but he doesn't deserve the Maurice Jones-Drew type money he's asking for. Kris Jenkins was this team's best player in 2008.
If you close your eyes you can already see a highly pissed of Westhoff over this new rule. Someone is gonna get hit with a cane before it's all said and done.
I don't know if you want anyone to be a feature back anymore. If you are a feature back, you end up getting hurt a la Portis or Tomlinson. I think defenses have evolved over the years where one guy cannot take ALL the hits game after game after game. Splitting carries is the way to go now a la the Giants or so many other teams, us included. That makes Leon very valuable with everything else he does.
You can make a case for Jenkins if you want, but Leon is more than just a kick returner. He can also take a handoff or screen pass to the house, as he did in the Buffalo and Tennessee games, right off the top of my head, and many other times in the past. The Miami game his rookie year he took a screen pass in the rain like 80 yards and set up a critical win Christmas night to help us get in the playoffs. He doesn't need 20 carries to put his stamp on the game. He should get the ball more than he did, but again, he doesn't need to be a feature back and he's more than a kick returner. Simply, he's great at running with the football, which is a game changing player however you manage to get the ball to him.
The issue with Leon is the CBA demise/uncertainty. Were this negotiation occuring last year, I think they'd be closer to a deal than they may be currently. It's also chicken/egg: is Leon worthy of getting #1 back money when he's never done it? But he's never been asked, either.
It's good to have him back and it sounds like they are going to get a deal done. Leon is our best game breaker on offense.
Bah! Kris Jenkins was initially the team's best player and certainly had the greatest impact on the performance of our D when he was healthy and fresh but unfortunately, this was not the case down the stretch when he wore down and was hampered by injury.
