The reason Santonio Holmes will be a Jet in 2012 is because they gave him a boatload of guarantee money and they are trying to get a return for their investment.
I think the Jets will be fine even though their internal implosion was swift.
Owner Woody Johnson spoke out on a few of the issues.
Johnson said it was “more of a gut feel” that “(Holmes) and Mark and the team will get back on the right page.”
“He’s going to have a fresh start this year,” Johnson said of Holmes. “And I think he’ll take advantage of it. He knows that it’s important to him. And it’s important to us.”
Asked whether the Jets would pursue Peyton Manning if the future Hall of famer is available on the open market and healthy from his recent neck surgeries, Johnson said this:
“I’m not going to ever tell you guys what we may or may not do,” Johnson said. “My job is to – for the fans – take this team to the very top level. I’ve said that from the beginning. I have a lot of confidence that we can do it. So we’re going to look at everything. We’re going to look at every possibility.”
“With Mark, you have a 25 year old quarterback that you can develop,” Johnson later added. “You can have a QB for 10 years with a guy like this. These guys… they’re not available every day. We have a lot of confidence in Mark. We think he’s our guy. We’re blessed that we have a guy that we feel can … get a lot better. He can do everything. He’s got the work ethic. He’s got all the ingredients in place to be a great QB.”
I think it would be a mistake for the Jets to do something foolish in their pursuit of Peyton Manning. People assume that Manning will just step back on the field and be the Peyton Manning of old.
But considering his age and health issues, I think the chances of that happening are low.
Plus the mix of Manning, with those players and coaching staff just in my opinion wouldn’t work.