There are too many elements that make too much sense about a union between the Jets and Nnamdi Asomugha to think that the marriage won’t take place.
Sure, the former Raiders cornerback, one of the most coveted prizes in a fertile free-agent market, is being courted aggressively by teams other than the Jets, such as the 49ers.
But the Jets make the most sense for what Asomugha wants, which is winning now.
The fact the Texans, who were also a player in the Asomugha sweepstakes, reportedly came to terms with former Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph yesterday, doesn’t hurt the Jets’ chances of landing Asomugha, either.
Making an Asomugha union with the Jets more of a reality is the fact that it’s believed that Asomugha isn’t using this free agency dance as a money grab. According to someone who speaks to him regularly, winning — more than money — is on Asomugha’s mind.
According to a Bay Area source who has known Asomugha since he went to the Raiders in 2003, Asomugha likely is to be influenced by the path of his close friend Charles Woodson. Woodson, who played with Asomugha in Oakland from 2003-05, left the losing culture of the Raiders after an accomplished personal career and went to Green Bay, where he took home a Super Bowl ring last year and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2009.
The source also said that Asomugha, who has played eight years in the league, has indicated that he doesn’t want to play a lot longer, fueling his urgency to win.
Asomugha also wants to establish a legacy. He would love to be voted into the Hall of Fame, but he has only 11 career interceptions. Opposing teams mostly avoided throwing Asomugha’s direction with the Raiders, but if paired with Darrelle Revis on the opposite corner, Asomugha knows teams will be forced to throw his way.
If Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum pulls this one off, we’ll have to refer to him as “Magic Mike” from now on.
If Tannenbaum can stave off the aggressive recruiting of the 49ers and perhaps the Cowboys and is able to create a dream cornerback tandem, he will cement his reputation as one of the most creative, shrewd and persuasive general managers in the game today.
When the lockout ended and the free-agent feeding frenzy began, few thought the Jets would be a realistic player in the Asomugha sweepstakes simply because they were already committing $11.5 million per year to Revis, whom they signed to a $45 million extension last summer.
But Tannenbaum, much like the athletes he manages, doesn’t like to be told he can’t do something. He takes on the challenge with a chip on his shoulder and thrives on proving you wrong.
So on Wednesday, when he re-signed the team’s top receiver and top offseason priority, Santonio Holmes, to a $50 million contract with $24 million in guarantees, he kept Holmes’ salary cap figure for 2011 to a manageable number of around $3 million.
That has allowed Tannenbaum room to sign yet another big-ticket item. An ESPN report yesterday had the Jets about $10 million under the salary cap before the Holmes signing. To sign their pool of draft picks, they must spend $3.4 million of that. That leaves around $3.3 million on the cap for Tannenbaum to work with, before any additional cuts or restructuring of existing contracts.
If he was able to sign Holmes to an average of about $10 million per year and keep his 2011 cap figure to some $2.5 million, then Tannenbaum might be able to create a contract that pays Asomugha the $12 million or so per year the Jets likely are offering and keep his 2011 cap figure within reason.
If there’s a GM out there who makes the Jets’ chance of landing Asomugha realistic, it’s Tannenbaum, who’s coming off several successful offseasons. He has crunched challenging numbers before and made moves that many didn’t think were possible.