New York Jets: Austin Seferian-Jenkins needs to return in 2018

Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins is an unrestricted free agent, but the New York Jets need to re-sign him for the upcoming 2018 season.

He won’t remind anyone of Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce, but Austin Seferian-Jenkins had a pretty solid season for the New York Jets in 2017. The 25-year old tight end recorded a career-high 50 receptions and has seemed to turn his career around after being a highly-touted second-round draft pick (38th overall) of the Tampa Bay Bucs in 2014.

Fifty receptions may not seem like many. Consider this though: during the 2015 and 2016 seasons combined, Jets tight ends had a grand total of 26 catches…in 32 games. The tight end actually became a viable part of the offensive scheme again last year and Seferian-Jenkins was the main reason why.

The 6-6, 262-pounder added three touchdowns and had a career-best 67.6 catch percentage (minimum seven games) last season. He was one of New York’s top red zone targets. Seferian-Jenkins is an unrestricted free agent. NFL free agency commences in mid-March. General Manager Mike Maccagnan has to decide whether he should bring back ASJ for 2018 and possibly beyond.

According to Spotrac, the current market value for Seferian-Jenkins is $4.1 million per year. Maccagnan can attempt to sign a household name like Jimmy Graham but that would come with major concerns. Graham is five years older than Seferian-Jenkins, has been injury-prone and would be a lot more expensive. It just wouldn’t make sound financial sense for New York.

True, the Jets have almost $73.2 million in salary cap space (per OverTheCap.com) so they can afford to shop at Saks Fifth Avenue. However, a good portion of those dollars should be used to sign quarterback Kirk Cousins as their franchise quarterback. That is priority No. 1.

Seferian-Jenkins is far from the most dynamic tight end in the league. However, he is still just 25 years old and has plenty of upside. He faded down the stretch last season, but he remains a productive red zone target. He’s effective making receptions down the seam but he can also make the contested catch in traffic. His speed is below-average but he’s a precise route runner.

The University of Washington product had a base salary of $936,690 in 2017 so he is due a healthy raise. The Jets should be able to entice him with a one-year, $5 million offer, which is fair market value. The one-year proposal keeps his personal incentive high and if he performs well, Maccagnan could ink him to another contract in 2019. Perhaps a long-term one.

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Seferian-Jenkins revitalized his career in New York and is comfortable there. He made the tight end an important offensive entity again. It’s a win-win situation for Gang Green and ASJ if he is in their starting lineup for the season opener this coming September.