New York Jets: Things To Look For This Week

May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Calvin Pryor (Louisville) poses for a photo with commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected as the number eighteen overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to the New York Jets at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Jets have another round of OTAs this week, as does most of the league, so there will be plenty of news around the organization. Whether it be news about the quarterbacks, the rookies, injuries or even signings there will be football-related news. Here are some of the things to look for:

1) Calvin Pryor takes the field – After having his wisdom teeth removed and not being able to participate in last week’s OTAs, Calvin Pryor is ready to make his full team debut. What will the Jets show the media when they are allowed to watch? Who will the starters be and how much will we see 3 safety sets or the Big Nickel?

2) Will Pryor and McDougle sign their contracts? – 10 draft picks down and 2 to go for John Idzik. Getting both done this week will assure that neither are a holdout because as we saw with Milliner, rookie defensive backs need all the reps they can possibly get. What’s the hold up? For Pryor it is probably the offset language that caused the difficulty with Milliner last year. Hopefully Idzik learned his lesson and is willing to compromise quicker and avoid the same outcome. I would imagine the issue with McDougle is how his guarantees are structured. The Jets are going to want to protect themselves against injury and try to guarantee as much money for skill only as possible. They may be looking to add a bonus for games played this year.

3) Will there be post June 1st cuts that the Jets may pursue? This isn’t as big as it used to be with veterans getting cut after June 1st to spread the cap hit of their release over 2 years instead of just 1 because of the June 1st designation that allows team to designate one player cut before June 1st to be treated as if he has been cut after that date. There are 2 players currently out there and 1 that has been rumored to be cut that could potentially help the Jets. Jermichael Finley was recently medically cleared after a nasty spinal cord injury that threatened his career. Finley is the prototypical hybrid tight end that splits out wide more often than he lines up in line as a tight end. The difference is Finley does have some blocking ability when set in line. If healthy he is a game changer and pairing him with Amaro would be a deadly combination but the key words are “if healthy”. In addition to the neck injury, Finley has been frequently injured and would be a risk but with Jeff Cumberland as a third string tight end it could be a risk worth taking. Terrell Thomas, a defensive back formerly of the Giants, had a healthy 2013 after 3 ACL tears had him miss all of the 2011 and 2012 season. Thomas is a physical corner that likes to play press man coverage and could be a player to take a flyer on. Brandon Flowers of the Chiefs has been rumored to be traded or cut since the draft. No teams want to take on his salary but he will generate interest on the open market. He may not be the right fit for the Jets since he struggled with Bob Sutton’s system which he brought with him from the Jets. Rex is a bit more flexible and could tailor a scheme to put Flowers in a position to highlight his strengths.

So other than the above, I’m sure we’ll have snarky media columns, an entertaining Rex Ryan press conference or two and Geno Smith has his chance to speak to the media this week. Plenty of stories and look no further than The Jet Press for analysis of the news.