Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety J.J. Wilcox is coming to the New York Jets, and it’s a good sign for the future in free agency.
When the free agency period went by and the New York Jets signed no one to fill the holes they needed, fans began to show signs of frustration. They did eventually sign Trumaine Johnson, and even though that softened the blow, people began to point to the fact that free agents didn’t want to come to New York.
Whether that’s the case, or general manager Mike Maccagnan’s offers just weren’t up to what the free agents wanted is not the point. The perception was that players didn’t want to come the dysfunction that is the Jets.
That changed on Tuesday. According to a report from Adam Schefter (via Rich Cimini) of ESPN, free agent safety J.J. Wilcox has chosen the Jets over the 49ers, despite being close to signing with San Francisco.
"On the verge of signing with the San Francisco 49ers, free-agent safety J.J. Wilcox changed his mind and is expected to sign with the New York Jets, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday."
According to the report, they had agreed to terms, but he hadn’t signed yet. Before signing, he changed his mind. That’s a great sign for the Jets.
Wilcox is a good safety, but not a great one. Even still, he changed his mind to come join Gang Green. That says a lot about where this organization is headed. Some fans are ready to show Todd Bowles the door after last season, but I trust players. According to the report, Wilcox wanted to play for Bowles, which is another good sign.
Next: NFL 2018: Ranking the 50 best pass rushers
The Jets do have the infrastructure in place where players want to play. All it takes is a few players to want to play in New York to get others to follow. This is just the tip of the iceberg — especially with the cap space they’ll have going into 2019.
Add us as a preferred source on Google