March 19, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan answers questions from reporters during the annual NFL meetings at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

As of today, there are a number of unknowns going into the 2013 season. I will leave alone the obvious “who will be the starting quarterback” discussion, and move on to the other starting spots. Since the draft and free agency there are 10 linemen competing for 5 starting spots. Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, and Austin Howard are the known quantities, but the two starting guard spots are up for grabs. For those two spots there are currently four players, Willie Colon, Stephen Peterman, Vladamir Ducasse, and Brian Winters. Furthermore, going into the utility guy mix, you have Caleb Schlauderaff, and the two rookies vying for a roster spot in Oday Aboushi and William Campbell. The good news is that there are players to fill spots, and some have a lot of experience, while others are very athletic. All in all the offensive line should be an improvement in 2013 over last season. While it’s obvious a team can’t carry 10 offensive lineman, Campbell could be an invaluable practice squad addition in a year’s time, and if Winters can produce early either Colon or Peterman could be obsolete.

Now the real question is what is going on at free safety, tight end, and wide receiver? Who are the Jets starting players at those positions? Free safety currently boasts last year’s 5th rounder Josh Bush, and Philadelphia 2nd round flame-out Jaiquawn Jarrett. Throw in a couple of rookie free agents and you get the idea. Who is starting material? It’s not that either Bush or Jarrett are bad, as much as they are unproven.

Add to this the quandary of the starting opposite receiver to Santonio Holmes. Jeremy Kerley proved to be an excellent target out of the slot, but not a guy that will produce as much on the outside. Braylon Edwards came in and did an excellent job, better than Plaxico Burress the season before.

Last but not least is the trio of Dustin Keller replacements. Jeff Cumberland the converted WR, Konrad Reuland the blocking tight end, and Hayden Smith the unknown are the guys expected to compete for the top spot. Add these all up, and you have 2 important positions missing a clear-cut answer in that QB/WR/RB triad that all good offenses need to have. The QB part I won’t address, but the others I can make guesses at.

Wide receiver, according to reports might stay in-house. The Jets have interest in retaining Braylon Edwards, and Edwards has interest in remaining with the team. Why haven’t they come to an agreement yet? The longer Edwards sits on the market, the lower the price they can sign him for. It’s time to give up on the Josh Cribbs of the world, and get the proven player. Edwards deserves at least a 2 year 5 million deal if he would accept it. His value has diminished enough that he should. A receiving corps of Edwards, Holmes, Kerley, and Hill gives the Jets versatility. It has 4 guys that cover anything you want to do in slot receivers, vertical threats, red zone threats, route runners, and possession receivers. The 5th receiver spot can be fought for between the fringe players like Jordan White and Clyde Gates. While some might not think this is a top receiving group, it would allow the top 4 to play in 4 wide sets, and be put in positions to make plays.

Tight end might miss Dustin Keller, but not as much as you might initially think. Konrad Reuland to me showed the most promise of being a great blocker primarily, and a last check down option in the passing game. While not a burner, he caught pretty much everything thrown his way. Hayden Smith is the dark horse, because most of his praise was saved for practice field where he was said to have given defenses a hard time.

This brings me to the last spot on the team, the free safety. With Dawan Landry manning the SS spot, there are some options still available out there at free safety. Josh Bush is not ready to handle this full-time, and Jarrett wasn’t good enough in Philly to be expected to start in New York. I just read an article on ProSportsTalk where a still unsigned Charles Woodson was lowering his demands for playing for a playoff team. Woodson in his 15th season is a hall of fame, and stillgreat player. He was moved back and forth from corner to FS by Green Bay, and did very well. I like the idea of signing a hall of fame defensive back after trading one away. Woodson deserves a two-year deal to finish his career in New York. If you look at total production, he started the full season in 2011. He produced 75 tackles, 2 sacks, 7 INT’s, and 16 passes broken up. A signing of Woodson would be a win win for both sides. Finishing a great career for a great team back on the rise, while mentoring Josh Bush could be the icing on the John Idzik year one cake.

September 16, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Jets offensive tackle D

Lost in the excitement however, is this small piece of seemingly insignificant information. Just a day or two ago, the Jets restructured D’brickashaw Ferguson’s contract for the upcoming 2013 season. Before restructuring the Jets were reportedly already around 12.4 million under the salary cap. By renegotiating, and slashing his salary to a prorated bonus, they were able to add another 5.1 million in cap space. By my estimate, that gives the Jets who started 20 million over the cap, at least 17 million in cap space currently. I don’t know how accurate this number is, as it’s just the accumulation of different sources, but if it’s true more big news should be on the horizon.
Just to throw out ideas, I thought about what a team could do with 17 million in cap space. A couple different ideas came to mind.

1. They could add some free agents at skill positions (WR) like Braylon Edwards, Steve Breaston, or Early Doucet.
2. Could address the open starting tight end position with Kevin Boss, Dallas Clark, or Leonard Pope.
3. They could cut Mark Sanchez (though I hope not) and put a large portion of his salary into this years cap space if possible, and thereby take most of it off the books, while opening the QB spot for David Gerrard, Greg McElroy, and Geno Smith.

I think option 3 might be in the works. Consider this premise. If there truly is an open competition for quarterback and Sanchez is not the best of the group, then what? Even if he is second best on the team to David Gerrard, or to Geno Smith, he might not make it to the 2013 regular season roster. Why have a clipboard holder making over 8 million a season?

I’m not a cap expert, but if Sanchez were to be cut the Jets would be responsible for his guaranteed money. From different sources, that would be about 12 million dollars this season, still giving New York about 7 million in breathing room. Next season he is guaranteed only 2 or 3 million, and some in guaranteed money only if he is on the roster during the start of the actual 2014 season. All in all, it looks like it could cost the Jets around 12 million to release Sanchez, and let him find a better environment. While this money is a lot, it is far from undo-able.

Again, this is just a plausible scenario for creating more cap room on a team that already has a little bit of cap room. Drafted players are not included in the cap space, because a draft pool of money is pre-allotted to my knowledge. My thinking is that Idzik is trying to cover his bases should Sanchez rise or fail. If Sanchez proves to be the best in training camp, then he provides the team with the best chance of winning now. He continues to start, and Geno Smith gets a year or two to see what he’s got. Idzik wins, and there is a better QB standing with the clipboard in Smith than Tim Tebow.

However, if Sanchez is anything less than the best quarterback on the team, the Jets may turn the team over to whoever shows the most in an open competition. This could mean the cutting ties of Sanchez, Tebow, or both, and using the cap room cushion to absorb the blow all in this 2013 season. Idzik still wins, because he quietly slid in enough cap room to remove the loser of the QB derby, so there is no distraction, and the salary cap is not affected in 2014. So while the draft is going on just keep in the back of your mind that moves are still not done being made behind the scenes. For the record, I still support Sanchez, but I think Idzik has set the stage already for whoever wins the starting job by August.

Dec 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) drops to pass as Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams (94) rushes during the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Jets 28-9. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Chad Pennington was once in Mark Sanchez’s shoes. In 2004 he took the Jets on a deep playoff run, but lost to the Steelers on two botched Doug Brien field goals that could have won the game. In 2005, following a successful 10-6 previous season, Pennington was injured and the Jets sank to 4-12. The following year during the 2006 draft, there was a new offensive coordinator, a physically banged up quarterback, questions surrounding the draft, and all bets were off. The result?

Jets drafted a young QB named Kellen Clemens out of Oregon in the 2nd round, with the 49th pick of the 2006 NFL draft. He had gaudy college numbers including a 151 QB rating. He had a cannon arm, he had accuracy, he oozed “potential”. He broke college records held by hall of fame quarterback Dan Fouts. He also had questions coming into the 2006 NFL draft after he broke his ankle with 3 games remaining on the season. All in all, he totaled 19 TD’s against only 4 INT’s in his final injury shortened college year, but was heralded as a potential Pennington replacement. Following Clemens drafting, then coach Eric Mangini declared there was an open QB competition between 4 quarterbacks. They were Chad Pennington (the incumbent), Patrick Ramsey (the aging veteran), Brooks Bollinger (the 2nd year QB), and Kellen Clemens (the hot rookie prospect).

Does any of this sound very similar or familiar? If it does, I’ll finish the story. The Jets had a comeback year in 2006. Pennington had back to back 300 yard games the first two games of the season under the new coordinator Schottenheimer. He went on to reach career highs for completions, passing attempts, and passing yardage. He was named “Comeback player of the year”. The Jets went from 4-12 in 2005 to 10-6 in 2006. Mangini was nicknamed “Mangenius” and you know the rest.

Point is, it seems things have come back full circle. Pennington was in his 6th year when this happened, Sanchez is entering his 5th. Pennington was being bashed by his injury bug and noodle arm, while Sanchez about his accuracy and decision-making. Both had doubters entering the upcoming season, both had fans begging for a replacement. They also had eerily similar roles in the same “open QB competition”, which also had doppelgängers in Ramsey/Gerrard, Bollinger/McElroy, and Clemmens/Geno Smith.

Call me nostalgic, but I think this is going to be history repeating itself. Not just in terms of the draft, but of the type of season Sanchez is about to have under Marty Mornhinweg. While Schottenheimer was able to tailor his playcalling to Pennington’s strengths, Mornhinweg who worked with similarly inaccurate Michael Vick may be able to do the same with Sanchez.