3 free agent signings the NY Jets wish they could undo

The NY Jets were fairly active in free agency a year ago, making a number of moves to help get the team over the hump prior to the 2022 season. Some of those moves worked out.

The D.J. Reed signing was the crown jewel of the Jets' 2022 free-agent class, but players such as Tyler Conklin and Greg Zuerlein also proved to be worthwhile pickups. Not every signing turned out to be a productive one, however.

A few of the Jets' external additions in the 2022 offseason fell short of expectations in their first season with the team.

For the sake of this list, we're only considering players who were signed, not re-signed. That means the likes of Braxton Berrios and others will not make an appearance on this list.

Let's take a look at three free-agent signings from the 2022 offseason the Jets wish they could undo.

3. Jacob Martin, DE

We start with a player who didn't even make it through the entire season with Gang Green. The Jets signed Jacob Martin to a three-year, $16.5 million contract in March of 2022 with the hope that he could provide pass rush depth.

Martin quickly became a victim of the numbers game in a deep Jets defensive end rotation, and it didn't help that he failed to make the most of his snaps. The former sixth-round pick tallied 1.5 sacks in eight games before he was shipped to Denver at the trade deadline.

The package the Jets received in return was a mere swap of 2024 Day 3 picks. They essentially gave him away for nothing to free up more snaps for others on the roster. The worst part about it is that the Jets are still paying for Martin's contract.

Martin counts over $2.3 million against the salary cap in 2023 — a not-insignificant amount for a team pressed for cap space. There's no way around it; the Jacob Martin signing was a failure.

2. Jordan Whitehead, S, NY Jets

The Jets signed Jordan Whitehead to a two-year, $14.5 million contract in March of last year. One year removed from a Super Bowl victory, Whitehead was expected to provide a welcomed, physical presence to the back end of the Jets' defense.

The 26-year-old did start all 17 games and was the better of the Jets' two safeties, but it's safe to say he fell short of expectations. Whitehead was mostly a weak spot in the Jets' defense last season.

His 15.6 percent missed tackle rate finished fourth-worst among safeties to play at least 80 percent of their team's defensive snaps. His his Pro Football Focus run-defense grade ranked 59th out of 82 qualified safeties.

Whitehead was a liability in run defense and as a tackler in open space. His tackling has always been inconsistent, but Whitehead regressed as a run defender in 2022.

The former Pittsburgh standout saw his PFF run defense grade shrink from an excellent 78.4 in 2021 to a lackluster 59.4 in his first year with the Jets. After recording 41 run stops in his final season with the Buccaneers, Whitehead mustered just 30 in 2022.

Whitehead was inconsistent at best this past season. The Jets restructured his contract in the offseason, allowing him one final chance to prove that his signing wasn't a mistake.

As of now, however, Whitehead has fallen short of expectations. He has an opportunity to change the narrative this season/

1. Laken Tomlinson, OG, NY Jets

The most notable and expensive signing of the 2022 offseason for the Jets was the addition of Pro Bowl offensive guard Laken Tomlinson. Tomlinson was signed to a hefty three-year, $40 million contract worth over $13 million per season in March of last year.

The Jets believed they were landing a Pro Bowl-caliber guard who could serve as a cornerstone of the team's offensive line. That didn't exactly prove to be the case.

While Tomlinson stayed healthy — a rarity for a Jets offensive lineman in 2022 — his performance was well below standard. He finished with a PFF grade of 56.8 that ranked 58th out of 77 qualified guards. His woeful 46.9 PFF run-block grade ranked 69th out of 75 qualifiers.

Tomlinson was a below-average starting guard, at best, in 2022, despite being one of the team's highest-paid players. Some of that can be attributed to the rotating series of offensive linemen he was forced to play alongside, but that can't be used as an excuse.

The Jets need Tomlinson to be better this season — it's that simple. The team swung big in free agency last offseason with the expectation that Tomlinson would prove to be a massive addition. In reality, he was essentially a replacement-caliber offensive lineman.

Like with Whitehead, there's still time for Tomlinson to turn things around, but if he doesn't show signs of improvement, this signing will go down as one of the Jets' more notable free-agent misses in recent years.