Jets ready to offer Austin Seferian-Jenkins new contract

The New York Jets are ready to re-sign potential free agent tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins to a new contract. Here are the latest details.

In an article written by Darryl Slater of NJ.com, he confirmed that the New York Jets are ready to offer potential free agent Austin Seferian-Jenkins a new contract to bring him back for next season. Slater reported that the Jets plan to meet with his representatives during the 2018 NFL Combine which hopefully, a deal can come to fruition before he hits the free agency market.

Seferian-Jenkins totaled the best year of his career with the Jets in 2017. He totaled 357 receiving yards, 50 receptions, and three touchdowns. The numbers aren’t great but at the end of the day, he brought some much-needed production from the tight end position that the Jets haven’t had in years.

Ideally, Seferian-Jenkins wants to get a bit more money due to what he accomplished last season and what’s on the horizon. As per Slater, he turned down a previous offer by the Jets earlier this year which was a two-year/$8 million contract, which comes down to about $4 million per year.

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Naturally, Seferian-Jenkins most likely felt lowballed by general manager Mike Maccagnan’s offer. Slater also reported that Seferian-Jenkins wants double the offer per year, something along the lines of a two-year/$14 million contract.

It makes sense to bring Seferian-Jenkins back since he did well as a starter and looks like he could pick up exactly where he left off from last season. He should have had two more touchdowns on the year but unfortunately, he was the victim of the fun “is it a catch or not?” game by the referees and replay system.

Either way, the Jets are interested in bringing him back but obviously, at the right price. With the return of tight end Jordan Leggett, if Seferian-Jenkins feels he’s worth more money than whatever the Jets offer him over the next few days, the franchise might decide to move on without him. It will be interesting to see what transpires but Seferian-Jenkins will likely put up an even bigger year in 2018 since he’s dedicated and committed to being an above-average tight end.