For all the talk of how good Demario Davis was in 2017, he didn’t impress the New York Jets, who failed to offer him a contract this offseason.
There was great debate among New York Jets fans whether the team should re-sign Demario Davis to a long-term contract. Well, apparently it wasn’t much of a decision for Davis because the Jets never offered him a deal.
“The shocking thing was the Jets didn’t make me an offer, so that made my decision easy because all I had to do was look at the contenders,” he told Rod Walker of the New Orleans Advocate after signing a three-year, $24 million deal with the Saints. “It would have been something to weigh. The hardest decision isn’t where to go, but deciding if you want to go or stay. So I didn’t have to make that decision, so that was the peaceful thing about it.”
While initially reading this may send shockwaves through the fanbase based on the 2017 version of Davis, it’s more than that. This is a “what can you do for me now” league and Davis, before 2017, was a mediocre player. There’s no guarantee he’ll continue to play at the same level he did last year.
General manager Mike Maccagnan put his emotions in a box and locked that up. That’s a smart, savvy business move because, at the end of the day, the NFL is a cutthroat business.
There was significant risk involved with that because clearly, Davis wasn’t waiting to see what the Jets were going to do. But the Jets had a plan.
#Jets add to haul with top free agent inside linebacker Avery Williamson https://t.co/CVn69B7V2w
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) March 14, 2018
Gang Green could’ve swung and missed on Avery Williamson and lost out on Demario Davis, which would’ve left the team in quite the bind. Fortunately, it didn’t happen that way.
The Jets ended up signing a player who is three years younger, $1.5 million cheaper and arguably a better fit in a 3-4 scheme. That’s just good work all the way around.
