New York Jets News: Braylon Edwards, Ramses Barden
The New York Jets are still looking to fill out their wide receivers corps, and there are a pair of news updates today on free agent wideouts Braylon Edwards and Ramses Barden, who both spent the 2012 season in New York (Edwards with the Jets and Barden with the Giants).
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
According to a tweet from Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Jets GM John Idzik has not ruled out re-signing 30-year-old wide receiver Braylon Edwards. Per Mehta, Idzik stated, “Guys like that will be under consideration as we go forward, for sure.”
Taking off my New England Patriots fan cap and pretending to be a Jets guy, I would be all for the Jets re-signing Braylon Edwards. From a rival perspective, Edwards would come at an extremely cheap price, and he has a great rapport with Mark Sanchez. That connection is valuable, and Edwards brings some production to the table that is valuable when looking at his price tag. Even if Geno Smith or even David Garrard ends up starting for the New York Jets, keeping Edwards would still be a good move for the Jets.
Although Ramses Barden caught just 14 passes for 220 yards last season for the New York Giants, he has the frame (6’6″, 224 pounds) and ability to make an impact for the Jets wide receiver corps. According to Mike Garafolo of the USA Today, the Jets have “had conversations” with Giants free agent wideout Ramses Barden and notes that Idzik stated that the Jets are not done adding players to the skill positions.
It is pretty obvious that the Jets could use some more help at the wide receiver position, and I wonder where they will get it from. I could see them pulling in both Edwards and Barden if Barden’s asking price is to their liking, but Edwards should be the bigger priority for them of the two wideouts. The Jets should go for Edwards due to his low price tag and familiarity with the team. I wonder if Barden will receive a significant amount of interest now that the draft is over and the second waive of free agency hits, and it will be interesting to see if anything becomes of the talks between the Jets and Barden.
Although there hasn’t been much news on the Giants interest in keeping Barden on the team, I would still think the Giants are in play to keep Barden based on the reports from last month.
You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.