If the rumors we’ve heard in recent days are true, it’s fair to say Jets GM Joe Douglas his betting on himself when it comes to the Jets contract situation with edge rusher Bryce Huff. Two stories that broke this week put Douglas under the microscope.
First, a story from The Athletic claimed the Jets could be on the verge of losing Huff to the Philadelphia Eagles who are going to make a strong push to add the edge rusher. That was followed by another story that claimed Joe Douglas had turned down multiple trade offers for Huff during the 2023 season.
On the surface, this would be a huge blunder by Douglas. To have a player of Huff’s caliber walk out the door for nothing in return would be a very bad look. But is Douglas betting on himself here?
If he believes he’ll be around beyond 2024, perhaps Douglas thinks the comp pick he could receive for Huff will be of greater value than the picks he was being offered this year. For example, if the best offers he was getting were for a fourth or fifth-round pick, Douglas may believe he’ll get a pick in round 3 in 2025. If that’s the case, why give up a player for far less in return?
The tricky part now though, is getting that premium compensatory pick for Bryce Huff. Should the Jets land a big fish or two in free agency, that may cancel out anything the Jets would have gotten for Huff and letting him leave for nothing in return could only be described as a huge failure.