New York Jets: Looking back on Eric Decker, and forward without

Looking back on Eric Decker‘s time with the New York Jets, and looking ahead to the road without him on the roster.

The roster purge continues with the team known as “Gang Green”. The New York Jets have been eliminating all of their veterans and started the rebuilding process with a vengeance. After the early releases of Nick Mangold, Darrelle Revis and Brandon Marshall, the process continued. Most recently, the Jets said goodbye to David Harris after 10 dedicated years at middle linebacker.

Well, now it’s continuing. For anyone that missed it, the Jets announced the release of wide receiver Eric Decker. Earlier, the Jets had said they would look to trade the wide receiver, but release him if they couldn’t execute a trade. Why any team would make a trade if they know the player was going to be available for nothing is beyond me, but that is for a different discussion.

But here we are, Decker is gone, and the Jets have four players on the roster over 30 years old. With that, we take a look back at Decker’s three years in New York.

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After spending his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos, Decker was signed by the Jets in one of John Idzik’s few good moves. He was brought in to lead a Jets receiving group that had no true number one receiver. After working with Peyton Manning in Denver, Decker now had to be that lead wide receiver with Geno Smith as his quarterback, otherwise known as not Peyton Manning.

Many thought that Decker would be over his head as a No. 1, and that he was only good enough to be second fiddle to a strong receiver, like he had in Denver with Demaryius Thomas.

That proved not to be true, as he managed 74 receptions for 962 yards and five scores. In 2015, the arrival of Brandon Marshall on the opposite side and Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback opened things up for Decker. The man known for his precise route running posted 80 catches for 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jets fans will never forget him for this, in overtime, against the hated New England Patriots:

One play will make Eric Decker a beloved figure until the end of time, and that was the one. One could argue, however, that his value became most apparent last season. It was week two and the Jets had just topped the Bills, 37-31, to run their record to 1-1. The Jets offense was looking much like the offense of 2015 while posting 493 yards of offense. Decker caught six passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.

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Unfortunately, Decker also got hurt during the game. He played in just one more game, the next week against Kansas City Chiefs. He wasn’t used much that day, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw six interceptions, and down the bowl went the Jets season. Everyone’s production dipped and here the Jets sit. The case can be made that without Decker, more attention was paid to Brandon Marshall and everyone else and it threw off the offense. Had he not gotten hurt, maybe we would be talking about a different result for the 2016 Jets?

It’s hard to say for sure, but it is indisputable that the offense was different without Eric Decker on the field. Having two wide receivers that can make plays simply makes a huge difference. It became clear that his value was immense, as with his departure the Jets chances departed as well.

Here are his numbers in three years with the Jets:

• 163 receptions, 2,183 yards, 19 touchdowns

He was a quality player on the field and a respected one off of it. The team will miss him. Even in the rebuild, he will be missed. Decker would have been one veteran worth keeping around to help develop a young quarterback.

Next: 5 Questions the Jets must answer in 2017

First of all, he clearly was effective with one, looking at the year he spent with Smith under center. There is no better friend to a young quarterback than a strong route runner. He would have been a trustworthy weapon for Christian Hackenberg, Bryce Petty, or whoever else might play quarterback. It will be just that much tougher without Decker around.

Hopefully, the young receivers will develop quickly and help these quarterbacks out.