NY Jets: Team should target Matt Forte in free agency

The NY Jets will definitely be in the market for a running back this offseason. Matt Forte is officially a free agent, and he’s the type of running back the Jets could use.

The free agent market isn’t deep enough for the Jets to take too much time.  Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell, two of their own free agents, are available, but Ivory seemed to run out of gas at the end of the season, and Powell just had his best season and may cash in for the long-term.

The Jets shouldn’t be concerned about the long-term.  They should be all-in for 2016.  The team should be focused on trying to win it all in 2016.  If the can sign Forte to a two or three-year deal, go for it.

He can replace Powell.  He has 2,522 touches for 12,718 yards from scrimmage for an average of five yards per touch and 64 touchdowns.  Powell had a great season, but I am not sure if he can repeat that performance.  Forte has performed consistently for his entire career.

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Normally, the 30 year old age would scare people.

However, he’s showing no signs of slowing down.  He’s at the perfect age for the Jets, because he may be willing to sign a shorter term deal.  The other running backs in free agency will be looking for security, because it could be their last long-term deals.

The only player that might not be on his last long-term deal is Lamar Miller.  He’s young, and did improve each season for the Miami Dolphins, but, like Powell, he needs to have more consistently good seasons.

We shall see what the Jets mentality is this offseason.  If they renegotiate the contracts of D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Darrelle Revis, that means they’re all-in for 2016, and they will have a playoffs/Super Bowl or bust mentality going into 2016.

If that ends up being the case, then they should definitely go after Forte, and also draft a running back that could learn under him.  If not, they should go young with a combination of Miller and a power back in the 2016 NFL Draft.

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I think they should be all-in for 2016, being that the were so tantalizingly close to the NFL Playoffs this season.  The Jets have an all-time record of 387-457-8 with a 12-13 record in the postseason. Only one head coach (who coached for at least two seasons), Bill Parcells, finished his tenure with the Jets with a winning record (29-19-0, 1-1 postseason).

It’s put up or shut up time.  Shove all the chips to the middle of the table and take the necessary risks to win.