Yeremiah Bell (Getty Images)
SEE YA! Shonn Greene (above) and Yeremiah Bell (inset) are two more Jets starters who have left the team. Greene signed a 3-year, $10 million deal with the Titans, and Bell reached a deal with the Cardinals. (Getty Images)
The gutting of the Jets roster continued yesterday, but they did not lose their most important player — yet.
The Jets did not trade their star cornerback as things quieted down a bit in the Darrelle Revis saga. A source told The Post that no trade is imminent with Revis and the team is not actively shopping him.
Running back Shonn Greene and safeties LaRon Landry and Yeremiah Bell did bolt the team yesterday. Greene signed a three-year, $10 million deal with the Titans. Landry agreed to a four-year, $24 million deal with the Colts, according to a source. Bell signed with the Cardinals, but terms were not known. It also appears the Jets will lose tight end Dustin Keller via free agency soon.
The first two days of free agency have left Jets fans scratching their heads about who exactly is going to be on this team in 2013. Any questions about whether this season will be a rebuilding year have been answered by the Jets’ inaction at the start of free agency.
New general manager John Idzik has cleared cap space, and the Jets are about $15 million under the cap, but they are not spending yet. The only one of their own free agents they have re-signed is fullback Lex Hilliard, who got a one-year deal yesterday, according to a source.
Idzik was at the Alabama pro day yesterday, and a source said Revis was not close to being traded. The Buccaneers and Jets have talked about a trade, according to a source, but no deal is close. The Tampa Bay Times reported the Buccaneers are happy with signing free agent safety Dashon Goldson and are not going to spend “big money” on a cornerback.
On NFL Network, Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano said of Revis, “Everything’s a possibility. We’re trying to get better and anybody that can help us do that, they’re definitely on our radar.”
Goldson signed a five-year, $41 million contract with the Buccaneers, according to reports. Tampa Bay had $32 million in salary cap space entering free agency and Goldson’s deal is not expected to financially preclude them from trading for Revis.
The Jets did not try to hold onto Greene. The team’s third-round pick in 2009 goes to the Titans where he will join Chris Johnson in the backfield. Greene rushed for back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons in the past two years but never developed into the feature back they hoped.
Landry made the Pro Bowl in his one season as a Jet and proved he could stay healthy, earning him the big payday from the Colts. Bell spent the 2012 season with the Jets and played well. The team had interest in re-signing him, but the Cardinals struck first.
The Jets lost Mike DeVito to the Chiefs on Tuesday and released Sione Po’uha. At the moment, the Jets have four defensive starters from last year under contract, including Revis, and five offensive starters, not counting restricted free agent tackle Austin Howard, who likely is to return.
The next defection figures to be Keller, who visited the Dolphins yesterday and will continue to meet with the team today, according to a source.
The Jets had wide receiver Brandon Gibson in for a visit yesterday and he stayed in the area overnight and will continue the visit today, according to source, before visiting the Dolphins and Titans. The Jets will have running back Mike Goodson in for a visit today, according to a source.
All of these defections have to be driving coach Rex Ryan mad. Ryan enters 2013 coaching for his job, and his roster has been totally gutted. Jets sources say the team is concentrating on the draft, but it will have to be a historic haul to fill all the holes on this team.