Potential New York Jets’ Free Agent: Jon Asamoah
By Alan Schechter
September 30, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs guard
Jon Asamoah(73) warms up before the game against the San Diego Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chargers won 37-20. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
As we reported yesterday, the rumor mill has begun for the New York Jets and the free agency period. One of the players of interest for the New York Jets is Chiefs’ guard Jon Asamoah. So, let’s take a look at this guy.
He stands in at 6’4″, and weighs 305 pounds. He is only 25 years old so has a lot of football left.
Asamoah doesn’t have a spot in Kansas City at this point, as he lost his job to Geoff Schwartz. He will definitely have a new home in 2014.
As a right guard, he could definitely slide in for Willie Colon, who is going to test the free agent market.
In 2013, Asamoah’s overall grade (per Pro Football Focus) was a 7.9, with a pass blocking rating of 5.4. He did post a negative in the run blocking game, as he is much more of an accomplished pass blocker.
Let’s take a look at the seasons that he spent the entire year as a starter, 2011 and 2012. 2012 was a near-elite year for Asamoah. His overall grade was a 15.0, ranking him 10th overall at his position in the NFL. His pass blocking was a solid 3.7, and he had a good year in the running attack as well, with an 8.0.
In 2011, Jon was ranked 17th overall, with an 8.9 overall grade. In the passing game, Asamoah went to the elite of the league, ranked fifth overall with a grade of 13.5. His running game grade was not good, with a -6.9.
But, we see in 2012 that Jon Asamoah has complete play in him, with a well-rounded season that year. Jon could get the job done for the Jets at right guard in 2014.
Now let us get into the all important figure, the one that makes the world go around. That is the dollars and cents. Willie Colon was not a large cap number in 2013, only totaling $1.162 million. A fair number for an offensive guard, but also a number that doesn’t detract from doing a lot of other work.
Jon Asamoah was only a bit more against the cap, with a 2013 cap number of $1.55 million (all salary figures per Over the Cap). Obviously, to bring a free agent into the fold it will take a raise. But, you would think that a base of around $2 million, with a signing bonus of say $500,000 should get the job done. The market could tweak those numbers, but somewhere in that neighborhood should be fair for a guard.
The Jets should definitely take a look at this guy, plan for a future, and that future being without Willie Colon.