We still do not have word as to what the most lucrative contract on the Jets’ payroll will look like, but as the team waits on Aaron Rodgers, it is planning to bolster its roster at other positions.
The Jets want to bring back Sheldon Rankins, according to ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. The veteran defensive tackle is drawing interest from other teams (Twitter link), but the Jets want to re-sign the former first-round pick.
Comparing Rankins to David Onyemata, who received a three-year deal worth $35M to rejoin Ryan Nielsen in Atlanta, Cimini points to a raise being likely for Rankins to stay in New York. Rankins, 28, has not produced the numbers Onyemata has in recent years, totaling three sacks in each of his two Jets seasons. Absent the sack stats, which only really stood out during an eight-sack 2018 slate, Rankins has still been a key contributor alongside Quinnen Williams. He started 15 games last season, helping the Jets make a massive improvement on defense.
Rankins graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 22 overall interior defensive lineman last season; the 6-foot-2 pass rusher totaled 14 QB hits between the 2021 and ’22 campaigns. The Jets may have a price point here, considering Williams is on the radar for a monster extension and the team hopes to no longer be only working with a rookie-QB contract on the payroll.
Daron Payne's deal bridged part of the gap between Aaron Donald and the field at D-tackle, though at $22.5M per year, Payne’s Commanders extension still leaves a gargantuan chasm between Donald and his top contemporaries. Williams will be a candidate to further narrow that gulf, joining Chris Jones and Jeffery Simmons on that front.
It took just a two-year, $11M deal for the Jets to bring Rankins over from New Orleans in 2021. Williams was locked in to his rookie contract at that point. Going too much higher might be difficult for a Jets team that also has Carl Lawson and John Franklin-Myers signed to veteran deals, though the team is trying to keep its D-line together.
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