New York Jets appear to still have interest in Kwon Alexander
According to Brian Costello of the NY Post, the New York Jets remain very much still interested in signing former Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander.
“Kwon Alexander is still a free agent, and the Jets are interested,” Costello writes.
It’s now been over a month since Kwon was in the building on an official visit with the Jets, and as of today, there has been little movement towards a contract.
As far as we’re aware, Alexander has made no further visits and there is little information as to why a deal is yet to get done.
Instances such as this tend to be mostly related to playing time and salary. Kwon might believe he can still get a guaranteed starting spot or more guaranteed money than the Jets are offering. Maybe he’s waiting until training camp when teams begin to scramble for injury replacements; although there are risks associated with that strategy.
The closer we get to training camp and as we start to move through the off-season, the more likely it is the Jets get a deal done. A lack of competition for a signing always drives the price down in any negotiation, so it’s clear that Joe Douglas is willing to play the waiting game in relation to Alexander.
At linebacker this off-season, the Jets have signed Marcell Harris to go with returning starters Quincy Williams and C.J. Mosley. Head coach Robert Saleh recently said that he expects to have Jamien Sherwood back for training camp. The Jets’ fifth-round pick from 2021 is currently rehabbing from a torn Achilles injury that he sustained against the New England Patriots early in his rookie year.
Alexander would add a veteran presence to the team and he does have a history with the coaching staff having worked with Saleh in San Francisco in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Kwon was traded to the New Orleans Saints in November 2020.
Although there are some injury concerns with Alexander (35 games missed in career) he is coming off a productive season with the Saints. He registered 50 tackles, a career-high 3.5 sacks, and an interception in 12 games, and that interception now gives him eight for his career; something the Jets could use in the 2022 season.
Alexander also had seven games in 2022 where he earned a coverage grade of 70.0 or higher at Pro Football Focus, and although he had some poor games against the likes of Atlanta (29.4 grade), the Jets (44.9), and Carolina (40.8), he would still provide an upgrade to the coverage talent of the Jets’ linebacker core. His overall coverage grade of 67.6 ranked 16th out of 74 qualified linebackers in 2021 and was higher than the grade of any Jets linebacker.
