In addition to the team’s envious draft capital, the Jets, at present, have more than $66 million in cap space, according to Overthecap.com, which offers Mougey and the Jets incredible flexibility and possibility ahead of the free agency period, which officially opens in mid-March.
“I feel really good about both our cap space going into free agency in the offseason, and then obviously our draft capital going into the draft,” he said. “So, I feel like we’re in a good position. And [it] doesn’t change necessarily that you have all this cap space and available cash, we still want to be responsible. It’s not necessarily go out and just going high price. You’re aggressive in the market, you still want to be very strategic and calculate and make sure you’re doing the appropriate spending, again, with a vision on free agency and the draft and where you can kind of manipulate that.”
The Jets have some intriguing offensive players in place headlined by star WR Garrett Wilson, young offensive linemen LT Olu Fashanu, RT Armand Membou and the versatile Joe Tippmann, TE Mason Taylor and a stable of talented runners. Newcomers Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie III showed some promise after arriving prior to the NFL Trade Deadline from Indianapolis and Philadelphia, respectively.
“We’re excited about that offense, starting with the offensive line,” Mougey said. “With the group, very rare to have the entire group play the whole year, and I think I know that with the continuity on the offensive line, them playing together, they’ll continue to grow and continue to get better. And glad we have that foundation up front, because it really does all start up front.”
Both Wilson and Mason Taylor ended the season on injured reserve but are expected to fully recover. RB Breece Hall can become a free agent, though Mougey said “we’ll exhaust all options there and see how that unfolds.”
The major looming question surrounds the quarterback position. Justin Fields and Brady Cook are under contract while Tyrod Taylor can become a free agent. With the No. 2 pick and oodles of cap space, Mougey has a lot of room to maneuver.
“I know it gets kind of cliché and lame to say, but we’ll evaluate the quarterback position,” he said. “We’ll exhaust all options across the league, obviously, with an eye on the draft as well, but we’ll exhaust all options at the quarterback position like we do all positions. But obviously that’ll be a big talking point, and one we’ll have to really dive into.”
