Monday, March 11, 2019

Jets Make First Move of Offseason Trading for Raiders Guard

A day before free agent negotiating can begin, the Jets were busy fixing one of the biggest problems on their team: the offensive line. New York acquired Raiders guard Kelechi Osemele for a fifth round pick.

 There is a lot to like here. For starters the Jets get a player in Osemele who is not only a big, physical presence on the line, he is someone who has had some success in the League. 

He began his career in Baltimore in 2012, where he was a member of the Ravens Super Bowl XLVII Championship team, but injuries derailed his stay with the Ravens. Still he cashed in on a big contract, inking a five-year $60 million with the Raiders in 2016. He gave the Raiders immediate returns getting named two two Pro Bowls in 2016 and 2017, and was named NFL First Team All Pro in 2016. 

Like in Baltimore, Osemele's career in Oakland was derailed by injuries. He suffered knee and to toe injuries last season, causing him to miss a total of five games, which made him expendable in the eyes of Jon Gruden. Since trading Osemele, the Raiders have turned around and signed former Patriot left tackle Trent Brown to a mega contract, in addition to acquiring disgruntled former Steelers receiver Antonio Brown. 

So on paper it looks like the Raiders are loading up after shedding so much payroll and taking PR hits left and right last season. 

For the Jets, they get a player who has two years remaining, who is still in the prime of his career. They hope they can get something out of him at a position that has been a problem for them for a while. 

The Jets are expected to be in the market for Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, but don't expect Gang Green to get into a bidding war for a player who sat out the entire 2018 season because he was unhappy with his contract in Pittsburgh. The Jets need to tread carefully regarding Bell -- as talented as he is, they could always sign Tevin Coleman or draft a running back in next month's rookie draft. 

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