New York Jets: Top three players the team must re-sign

Re-signing important players should be the first task of what is set to be a busy offseason for the New York Jets. These three must be retained by the team.

With nearly $100 million in cap space, the Jets are heading into the 2019 offseason ready to load up. Before they start bringing in new faces, the team needs to lock up some of their own.

With a long list of potential free agents and many holes to fill, general manager Mike Maccagnan and the Jets have some tough decisions to make. However, it should be considered a ‘no-brainer’ that they bring back some of their top talents.

The team will have over 20 different players to make decisions on come the beginning of March. Some of these decisions may be easy to make but others might turn out to be quite difficult.

However, the following three players should make for easy decisions when the Jets ultimately decide who to bring back. With that, let’s take a look at three players the Jets must absolutely re-sign going into in 2019.

Jason Myers – Kicker

Kickers are not going to win you games by themselves, but when you need a big kick, you want someone you can trust. Jason Myers proved that he can be that guy.

He was given Pro-Bowl honors after his 33/36 performance this year. What stood out was his consistent ability to convert from long range. He finished the season 11/12 from 40-49 and 6/7 from 50+. You can’t ask for much more than that.

Myers has not been tasked with hitting clutch kicks as their four wins were all by more than four points. However, with that, he should be given the benefit of the doubt. The market for kickers is thin, and you don’t want to get stuck with an unproven commodity.

Myers will be heading into the offseason as an unrestricted free agent so the Jets should act quickly. You do not want to get into a bidding war with another team in search of a kicker. Re-signing Myers will give them a reliable option for years to come if he can continue the success of this past season.

Next: Andre Roberts

Andre Roberts – Kick/Punt Returner

Andre Roberts had a break-out 2018 campaign setting career highs in kick return yardage and yards per punt return. He also had two return touchdowns solidifying himself as one of the NFL’s top returners.

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This led to a Pro Bowl selection for the Jets speedster. In addition to his return prowess, Roberts developed into a decent receiving option for quarterback Sam Darnold towards the end of the season.

Andre Roberts has the ability to change the momentum of a game in an instant, proving to be equally dangerous on punt and kick returns. Good special teams play can win games and the Jets were able to get consistently solid special teams play in 2018.

Roberts is a veteran who has proven he can play at an elite level at his position. Heading into the offseason without Roberts would leave the team with Trenton Cannon as their main option in the return game who only had one return on the year. It should not cost too much to re-sign Roberts, so it would be wise for the Jets to lock him down for at least another year to sure up the return game.

Next: Robby Anderson

Robby Anderson – Wide Receiver

After getting off to a slow start in 2018, Robby Anderson was the Jets best receiver down the stretch. In weeks 14-16, Anderson caught touchdowns in each game and averaged over 100 yards a game.

More importantly, Sam Darnold was the highest rated quarterback in the NFL in that timeframe, according to Pro Football Focus. It was exciting to see how in-sync the two were to end the season. Not only was Anderson stretching the field with his trademark speed, but he was also getting separation on intermediate routes over the middle of the field. The sky is the limit for these two if they can work together for a full offseason.

The Jets wide receiver group is starting to come together right before our very eyes. They recently re-signed Quincy Enunwa, the physical, run-after-the-catch option. Chris Herndon came on strong in the second half of the season as well. He can use his size to go up and get contested passes from Darnold.

Add Robby Anderson’s ability to stretch the field and the Jets could have a solid core for years to come. Anderson is a restricted free agent so they have the last say whether he remains. It would be wise to match any offer thrown his way and lock up the franchise QB’s number one option.