Stay or Go: Should Jets bring Quinton Jefferson back for 2024 season?
The Jets signed Quinton Jefferson to a one-year deal last year and he made an immediate impact with two sacks in the opening-week win over Buffalo. Jefferson started the first 14 games of the year before going onto injured reserve and ended the season with a career-high six sacks. He’s now out of contract.
So, should the Jets bring Jefferson back?
Why Jefferson should be back
While the six sacks represented a career-high for Jefferson, he’s always been a player you can rely on to create consistent pressure as a pass rusher. That makes him a valuable rotational piece and his attacking style is ideal for their system.
Despite the six sacks, it shouldn’t necessarily take a big commitment in terms of high salary or a long-term deal to secure Jefferson’s services. The Jets were his fourth team in four seasons and analysis site Pro Football Focus projects his next contract to be a one-year deal for $3.5 million.
The Jets will definitely need to re-sign or replace some interior linemen because Quinnen Williams is the only main rotation player still under contract. While both Tanzel Smart and Marquiss Spencer signed future deals, they would be depth options at best, whereas Jefferson played almost 500 snaps. There was some suggestion that the Jets were able to overcome several defensive tackle injuries last season, so might feel they can get by with less experienced options. However, they were typically overwhelmed down the stretch whenever Williams left the game.
The Jets appreciate Jefferson’s experience and leadership and were particularly impressed after he showed up in great shape as he would have needed to cut weight from his playing weight in Seattle to better fit the Jets’ system.
If he returns, New York may be hoping for Jefferson to be even better in his second season in the system, which was the case for Nathan Shepherd and Solomon Thomas over the past few seasons. As his comfort level with the scheme and his teammates grows, Jefferson could be even more effective in 2024 than he was last season.
Why Jefferson shouldn’t be back
The Jets have not been afraid to let defensive tackles walk in free agency over the past few years. Folorunso Fatukasi, Sheldon Rankins and Shepherd were among the key contributors that the team opted not to re-sign in recent seasons.
The Jets might prefer Jefferson to play more of a specialist role because he’s not as good as a run defender as he is at rushing the passer. Pro Football Focus recently wrote that he has “severe limitations” as a run defender, although he did make some good plays against the run from time to time. If the Jets, who almost signed Fletcher Cox and Calais Campbell last March, can manage to bring in a veteran starter who is more solid against the run, then Jefferson might be less interested in returning in a reduced role.
Jefferson has been quite durable in his recent career, missing just five games since the 2017 season. However, he’ll be 31 on opening day and is coming off a hip injury, which reportedly required him to have offseason surgery.
Verdict
It’s likely that the Jets will want to bring back Jefferson but may set their price point for him and allow him to walk if another team comes in with a considerably higher offer. However, Jefferson had a good year and would perhaps be keen to stay with the same team for the first time since he left Seattle in 2019.
Even if the Jets are able to bring Jefferson back at the right price, they’ll still have to fill out the rest of their rotation and it’s possible they could bring in another veteran to start so that Jefferson can provide rotational depth and be deployed more situationally instead of being the starter.
