Breno Giacomini could be on his way out

For the New York Jets, their starting right tackle Breno Giacomini has disappointed thus far and could be on the way out, sooner rather than later.

The offensive line remains an issue for the New York Jets halfway through June and that puts them in a precarious position. Despite the addition by subtraction, with the retirement of D’Brickashaw Ferguson and the subsequent addition of Ryan Clady, the Jets have holes to fill.

One of the holes that is empty or at the very least could use some improving is that of the right tackle situation. Breno Giacomini since signing a four-year deal with the Jets two years ago, has regressed.

According to Pro Football Focus rankings, the Jets had the seventh worst offensive line in 2015. Specifically, they cited Giacomini as having a poor season and that hurt his teammates, more so than helping them.

Pass-blocking rank: 22nd

Run-blocking rank: 25th

Penalties rank: 19th

Stud: By virtue of his teammates playing so poorly, the strong run blocking of James Carpenter made him an easy pick.

Dud: Poor in the run game and allowing too much pressure, Breno Giacomini did not have a good year.

More from The Jet Press

Giacomini not having a good year in 2015 is a huge understatement, just take a look at his statistics.

The penalty issues have continued to follow Giacomini, all the way from Seattle.

The reason that Giacomini is still on this roster is because the Jets have quite possibly the worst offensive line depth in the league.

If they had someone to replace Giacomini he would’ve been long gone by now.

But suddenly that very opportunity may have risen to the surface with certain trade rumblings in the AFC North. Coach John Harbaugh confirmed Tuesday in an article written by Marc Sessler of NFL.com that the Baltimore Ravens were involved in trade talks to move Eugene Monroe, the 29-year-old bookend:

“As a coaching staff, we just kind of respond to what happens in terms of front-office type of situations, and my understanding right now is that teams are inquiring about Eugene,” Harbaugh said via NFL.com. “And when you’re in that kind of a situation, there’s possibilities of those kind of things happening, you’re pretty much obligated to pull back and not practice a guy. So that’s where it’s at right now, it’s in Ozzie’s hands, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Those trade rumors were confirmed by the coach, but less than 24 hours later, Monroe has been released by the team according to multiple sources:

After trade talks with Giants fell through, Ravens released OT Eugene Monroe, per sources. Now free agent. NYG, SD, SEA could have interest.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 15, 2016

The problem reportedly was with his cap figure ($6.5M in base salary for 2016), which the Jets would also have an issue with. The Jets have encountered this before, most recently, when they acquired Clady from the Denver Broncos, he agreed to a restructured deal to facilitate the trade.

So if the Jets are going to be a suitor for Monroe’s services, they’ll need Monroe to take a discount. While Monroe has played the majority of his career at left tackle, he possesses scheme versatility and could swing over and play right tackle, immediately for the Jets.

With this addition, it would provide the Jets with the depth and improvement necessary to move on from Giacomini. Also, the Jets would then go from having one of the most uneven offensive tackle tandems to potentially one of the best.

The Jets brass hasn’t been afraid to take chances early on in their tenure and they’d really be taking a chance with their two starting tackles. Monroe has battled several injuries throughout his young career and we know of Clady’s history (missing 30 of the past 48 games).

So what was the necessary trade compensation? That question was asked to the official team website of the Ravens in a QnA session with the fans, written by Garrett Downing of BaltimoreRavens.com:

What Could Ravens Get In Trade For Monroe?

“Predicting the market for Monroe is somewhat tricky. He’s a veteran left tackle who has been a quality starter when healthy, but his durability has been a major question the last two years. He also carries a significant price tag. Monroe reportedly has a $6.5 million base salary in 2016, and that jumps to $6.75 million for each of the next two years.”

“With a big salary cap hit, teams likely won’t be interested in giving up high or even mid-round draft picks. Russell Street Report’s salary cap expert Brian McFarland thinks getting a fifth or sixth rounder is most likely.”

Due to the salary cap concerns, a trade wasn’t able to be worked out and Monroe was released. Now that he has entered the open waters of free agency, plenty of teams will be vying for his services.

The Jets have made it a trend to trade late round picks for veteran players in the past: Santonio Holmes, Brandon Marshall and Ryan Fitzpatrick just to name a few. Now with the surprising release of Monroe, the Jets won’t have to give up anything beyond the contract.

must read: Chan Gailey will help Geno Smith improve

Even if the Jets end up being one of the teams interested in adding Monroe, there is still some risk involved with signing an injury risk. Which leads to the intriguing question that remains, would the Jets be willing to take yet another chance?

Home/Jets News