5 NY Jets free agent targets the team should prioritize

4. NY Jets target: Kwon Alexander, LB

The Jets signed Kwon Alexander to a cheap, one-year contract last summer to provide much-needed linebacker depth to the team's defense. Alexander's lengthy injury history is why he was still unsigned in early August.

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft pick stayed healthy throughout the 2022 season, appearing in all 17 games for the first time in his career and playing an important rotational role in the Jets' defense.

Alexander was credited with 12 starts, finished with 69 tackles — the most since his Pro Bowl 2017 season — and played 49 percent of the team's defensive snaps.

The Jets re-signed Quincy Williams to a three-year extension, and he, along with C.J. Mosley, will return in 2023. The team is still searching for a third linebacker, however.

It's hard to predict exactly what Alexander's market is right now, but given the fact that he's still available in late March, it's hard to imagine he's asking for very much.

Replacing a starter who played essentially half of your team's defensive snaps last season isn't an easy task, especially when that player exceeded expectations in the way that Alexander did.

Unless the Jets plan to use a Day 1 or 2 pick on a linebacker or have something else in mind, it would make sense for the team to explore re-signing Alexander.

Right now, former sixth-round pick Hamsah Nasirildeen is penciled in as the starter alongside Mosley and Williams (Jamien Sherwood is the backup MIKE). That's not going to cut it.