Kimo Facing Competition

By Tom Rock

Are the Jets trying to send a message to Kimo von Oelhoffen?

The Jets were reportedly interested in renegotiating his contract last month, just before the free agency period began. Then came reports from Kimo?s side that no such negotiations would take place. The Jets did not want to release him, certainly not after handing him a ton of cash up front to sign only a year ago, and they loved his veteran presence in the locker room. But, since that time, the Jets have signed four defensive ends ? two of them former first-round picks ? to compete with von Oelhoffen in training camp.

The latest acquisition is Andre Wadsworth, the third overall selection in the 1998 draft (behind Payton Manning and Ryan Leaf) who had a series of knee surgeries and has not played in the league since the 2000 season. The 32-year-old is the second former first-round defensive end to sign with the Jets in a week, following Michael Haynes, formerly of the Bears, who was signed on Thursday. Like Wadsworth, Haynes has been out of football and has not played since 2005. The Jets have also signed DE Kenyon Coleman and re-signed DE Bobby Hamilton during the free agency period.

There are a few ways to look at the glut of defensive ends that the Jets have brought in in the last month. They could be looking for another DE-turned-OLB in the mold of Bryan Thomas or Willie McGinnest for their 3-4 scheme. They could be flirting with the idea of playing more 4-3 formations on defense. And they could just be picking up bodies for training camp in a series of low risk-high reward contracts. If either Wadsworth or Haynes can return to form as Jet ? and sometimes a change of scenery is enough for such a rebound ? the moves will only add to the growing legend that is Mike Tannenbaum.

But the bottom line is that the Jets need better production from the position. Von Oelhoffen started all 16 games at defensive end in 2006 but had only 28 tackles and one sack. I think the Jets message to the 36-year-old Kimo is clear: You can stay under the terms of the three-year, $9.2 million deal reached during the 2006 free agency period, but you have to start putting up numbers that reflect that kind of a payout.

Posted at: 19.04.2007
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