The New York Jets have the potential to form a vicious secondary if they pair Sauce Gardner with another game-changer.
It will be fascinating to see how GM Darren Mougey allocates New York’s fiscal resources as he and head coach Aaron Glenn build the roster.
Finding high-value players at a bargain price will be imperative for Mougey as he seeks to fill many roster holes on both sides of the ball. As it pertains to stocking the secondary with reasonably-priced talent, keep an eye on San Francisco 49ers free agent safety Talanoa Hufanga in connection to the Jets.
Spotrac estimates that Hufanga will demand something in the range of a three-year, $35.7 million deal this offseason, a figure that would be far higher if Hufanga wasn’t 16 months removed from a torn ACL.
Before the injury, Hufanga was an every-week starter at safety for the Niners. The 25-year-old has tallied 219 tackles, two sacks, and seven interceptions thus far in a career that began with being drafted at No. 180 overall by San Francisco in the 2021 NFL draft out of USC.
Hufanga was a first-team All-Pro safety in 2022, along with a Pro Bowler. There’s no reason he can’t return to form as he gets further away from the ACL injury (he’s still young enough to do so), and the team that decides to pay him could be striking gold on a valuable contract.
The Jets have a lot of areas in need of fiscal attention, but Mougey and Glenn should be monitoring Hufanga’s name on the market starting this week if they haven’t been checking in already.
