The Jets are in line to make significant additions to their roster next week in the draft. They are still keeping tabs on the free agent market, though, as they are hosting veteran linebacker Kwon Alexander today (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). 
Alexander, 27, has been in the NFL for seven years. He had a highly productive start to his career in Tampa Bay after they drafted him in the fourth round. In four seasons there, he totalled 380 tackles, seven sacks and six interceptions. In 2017, he earned his lone Pro Bowl nod.
His tenure with the Buccaneers came to an end after his rookie contract expired, though. He signed a four-year, $54MM deal with the 49ers in 2019. With injuries becoming a problem, however, his time in San Francisco was limited to just 13 games. It did, on the other hand, give Alexander a chance to play under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who is now head coach of the Jets.
The LSU product was traded to New Orleans in the middle of the 2020 season, as the 49ers offloaded the lucrative contract they had signed him to just one year earlier. Alexander helped fill one of the lone roster holes on a strong Saints defense, starting all seven games he played in. That convinced the team to bring him back (after cutting him in the offseason to save cap space), and he registered 50 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2021.
In New York, Alexander would not only reunite with Saleh, but add experience to the team’s LB corps. The Jets have C.J. Mosley at the top of the depth chart, along with Quincy Williams (who is a free agent next season) and a number of younger options. Signing Alexander would add a starting-caliber player in the middle of a defense looking to improve across the board from its 2021 performance.
Saleh might as well take Jimmy G too
He’d be a good pickup this late in free agency.
Don’t do that to yourself, Kwon. Have higher standards…
I’m shocked he’s still only 27, feels like a lifetime ago that he was balling out for the Bucs.
I’m glad this draft has a lot of linebacker talent in it, and I hope the Jets scoop up one in the second or third round, if not more than one in this draft. Their secondary rightfully got a lot of grief coming into this offseason, but their linebacker group is abysmal, and while I guess I’d rather see Kwon Alexander on the field than Quincy Williams, they need better answers than either.
Quincy actually wasn’t bad. He played with a lot of energy. They can sign Kwon, keep Quincy, and see who’s the best available with their day two picks, then let them fight for positioning on the depth chart.
He played with a lot of energy, but he’s not good.
I suppose this means no return to the Saints. I was kind of hoping that he would.
lotta holes to fill on the roster but headed in the right direction. sign Alexander and draft a LB or 2!