John Franklin-Myers' revelation makes NY Jets trade look even worse

The NY Jets made the controversial decision to ship defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers away in a trade to the Denver Broncos last week in exchange for a measly 2026 sixth-round pick.

The trade has been highly criticized by many who believe the Jets essentially gave Franklin-Myers, a rock-solid defensive starter, away for nothing. That decision looks even worse following a recent revelation by Franklin-Myers on social media.

The Broncos agreed to a reworked deal with Franklin-Myers after the trade that will essentially pay him $15 million over two years. That's an AAV of just $7.5 million including a meager $5 million cap charge in 2024.

One would think the Jets — a team that still has ample financial flexibility — would be able to make that work. As it turns out, the team never even bothered, at least according to Franklin-Myers.

The NY Jets made a crucial mistake with the John Franklin-Myers trade

Franklin-Myers revealed on social media that the Jets "didn't offer [him] anything close" to the extremely team-friendly contract he signed with the Broncos. That further calls into question the Jets' decision to make this move.

The Jets are attempting to push a narrative that they needed to make this move for financial reasons. It's what the organization has said publicly and it's clearly what reports coming from sources in the building are implying.

But no matter how much they may insist, the Jets did not need to trade Franklin-Myers. The team already had roughly $3-4 million in cap space prior to the trade. It's not as if their backs were up against the wall.

There was also an abundance of options the Jets could've explored that wouldn't have significantly impacted the defense. Heck, agreeing to a similar deal to the one Denver did would've accomplished just that.

The Jets have numerous players they could restructure, they have a number of players they could extend, and again, they could've reworked Franklin-Myers deal (including a pay cut) as the Broncos did.

Not to mention, the Jets' other defensive line transactions this offseason contributed to their tight cap situation. They paid Javon Kinlaw double what Quinton Jefferson received in free agency. They let Bryce Huff walk and traded for Haason Reddick, who now has to replace both Huff and JFM.

The Jets could've kept Franklin-Myers — they just didn't want to. That's it. The narrative shouldn't be that the Jets couldn't afford Franklin-Myers, because they could have, quite easily in fact. They just didn't believe he was worth it. The Jets believe he is a replaceable player.

This is despite the fact that Franklin-Myers led the team in QB hits and finished with 50 pressures last season. He recorded a higher pressure rate than Jermaine Johnson and was one of the Jets' best run defenders.

That's not an easily replaceable player, and there's no one on the roster right now who can fill his role. They're not getting that production out of Micheal Clemons, who was quietly quite bad last season. They're very likely not getting that production or versatility out of Will McDonald.

The Jets are underestimating Franklin-Myers' importance and impact on defense. That's the story here.

You can disagree with that. You can believe that he is a replaceable player and that trading him for nothing was the right move.

But what's irrefutable is that the Jets didn't have to do this. They weren't forced to make this move. The Jets made the decision to trade Franklin-Myers because they didn't think he was worth it.

That much has been made abundantly clear.