Complete list of every internal free agent on the Jets

The New York Jets have 27 players that fall under various free agent tags ranging from unrestricted, exclusive restricted, and restricted. Here’s the full list of every internal player on the Jets that could potentially hit the free agency market.

As the New York Jets prepare for the long offseason ahead, the first major event that will take place to allow the franchise to bolster their roster will be the free agency period. It’s an event that is best described as an absolute frenzy as once it hits, it has the potential to break every social media network out there in the world as signings become official.

It’s expected to be another fast and furious event with a plethora of top players that could hit the market and shock the football world by defecting to another team. Most of the time, it’s for bigger contracts that will earn them some serious money and long-term deals. When it comes to the Jets, they also have some popular names that could potentially hit the market.

As per Spotrac.com, the Jets have 27 players that fall under all the various different terms of free agency. In case you didn’t know, an exclusive restricted free agent is a player who has three or fewer years of playing in the NFL and their contract has expired. The original team must make a contract offer by the free agency deadline or that player officially becomes an unrestricted free agent with no compensation awarded if they bolt to another team.

A restricted free agent is a player that has played in the league for less than four years with an expired contract and may sign an offer sheet with another team but the original team has seven days to match any offer they got. If they don’t match the offer, the original team would be given draft picks by the signing team and that player could officially join their team.

Finally, an unrestricted free agent is a player with an expired contract that has four or more years in the league and may sign with any other team without any restrictions whatsoever. If let’s say a team loses a plethora of unrestricted free agents, they will be awarded compensatory draft picks by the NFL. The value of these draft picks will vary based on the players lost, their previous impact on the team, and the kind of new contract they got from another team.

Below is a full list of every potential free agent of the Jets directly from Spotrac.com:

Exclusive Restricted Free Agents

Defensive Tackle Deon SimonTight End Eric TomlinsonLinebacker Freddie BishopSafety Doug MiddletonDefensive End Lawrence ThomasRunning Back Jahad Thomas

Restricted Free Agents

Tight End Neal SterlingDefensive End Xavier CooperWide Receiver Lucky WhiteheadWide Receiver Quincy EnunwaOffensive Tackle Brent QvaleSafety Rontez Miles

Unrestricted Free Agents

Quarterback Josh McCownCornerback Morris ClaiborneCenter Wesley JohnsonLinebacker Demario DavisTight End Austin Seferian-JenkinsDefensive End Mike PennelKicker Chandler CatanzaroDefensive End Kony EalyCenter Jonotthan HarrisonLinebacker Bruce CarterDefensive End David BassLinebacker Julian StanfordFree Safety Terrence BrooksTight End Chris GraggOffensive Guard Dakota Dozier

More from Free Agency

• NY Jets make huge free-agent splash signing DE Carl Lawson
• NY Jets reportedly sign WR Corey Davis to three-year deal
• NY Jets miss out on both Joe Thuney and Corey Linsley in free agency
• NY Jets sign speedy LB Jarrad Davis to one-year deal
• NY Jets reportedly interested in signing DE Trey Hendrickson

Needless to say, general manager Mike Maccagnan has a lot of tough decisions to make before free agency begins in early March. A lot of the potential unrestricted free agents on the Jets were solid players last season. Players like Morris Claiborne, Demario Davis, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and even Chandler Catanzaro all exceeded expectations this past season.

Ultimately, the Jets must do whatever it takes to field the best team possible for next season. Expect to see some returning faces, some players cut, and well, the Jets to spend some serious money in free agency to improve several aspects of their team. With major needs on their offensive line, quarterback, cornerback, and even their overall pass rush, it’s an exciting time to see how the Jets could spend up to $100 million (after several player cuts) in free agency to see what direction the franchise is heading in.

Hopefully, it’s a good one since it’s been back-to-back seasons with a 5-11 record and well, it would be nice to keep rebuilding where the Jets can possibly win maybe 8, or even 10 games this upcoming season. It’s a longshot but with the right free agency acquisitions and a successful draft class, the Jets could turn from pretenders to contenders this offseason if everything falls into place.