Quick reactions on the Pryor/Davis trade

The Jets dropped a bombshell today by trading 2014 first round pick Calvin Pryor for Demario Davis; a former Jet they let walk after the 2015 season.

In due course, I'll review Davis' film from last season to try and assess whether he showed signs of improvement at all since his departure. However, for now, let's run through some of the implications:

Out of the frying pan, into the Pryor

Pryor's exit is no surprise. Indeed, Adam Schefter reported this morning that the Jets were going to release him. It's been apparent from the start that Pryor wasn't an ideal fit for Todd Bowles' defense - although he did play quite well in 2015.

Nevertheless, they didn't seem happy with his commitment and discipline in 2016 and it was telling not just that they drafted safeties with their first two picks, but specifically two who seemed to excel in areas where Pryor had been lacking.

Calvin Replace

This move creates a good opportunity on defense for someone. While the assumption is that rookies Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye were going to start whether or not Pryor had stayed on the team, Todd Bowles had been talking about using more three-safety packages this year.

Who could benefit from this? Rontez Miles, Doug Middleton and new acquisition Corey White would seem the most obvious candidates.

Demario Spendwagon

The financial aspects of this move should not be ignored. If the Jets had released Pryor, as they were rumored to have been considering, then they'd have remained on the hook for his entire 2017 salary - although it's possible they would have had offset language in his rookie deal.

Trading him to the Browns gets them off the hook for that sum, although they still have to account for about $1 million of dead money relating to pro-rated bonus charges.

The Jets are acquiring Davis with no guarantees remaining on his contract. If he doesn't make the team, they can cut him and will owe him nothing. However, unless they re-negotiate his deal, they will be on the hook for $3.8 million if he's on the opening day roster or lands on injured reserve prior to then.

What Didn't DD do?

The Jets clearly lack depth at the inside linebacker positions, which explains why they brought back veterans Julian Stanford and Bruce Carter despite uninspiring 2016 seasons. However, it's easy to forget how relieved many Jets fans were to see the back of Davis when he signed with the Browns last March.

Davis had never really lived up to his initial promise and was prone to breakdowns in coverage and being too slow to diagnose plays. While he might provide useful veteran cover for both David Harris and Darron Lee, I don't see him threatening either of their spots in the starting line-up.

Could they employ him along with Lee in sub-packages to get a bit more speed on the field and keep Harris fresh? Perhaps, but Davis was such a liability in coverage in 2015 that this would potentially downgrade the coverage units.

Conclusions

This seems more like a re-shuffle than something that will dramatically affect the on-field product this season for the defense. Two players that were surplus to requirements and with limited value have simply been shipped out for each other and maybe a fresh start will prove beneficial.

It's not just a salary dump for the Jets, because if that was their intention they'd have just traded him for nothing - or, in practice, a conditional pick with impossible-to-meet conditions that was destined to become nothing.

So, while that is one benefit, they obviously see some benefits in bringing Davis aboard. He is a good locker room guy, will gladly face the media, could be a good mentor for some of the youngsters and might be a useful fill-in in the event of an injury.

In terms of upgrading the roster, it's difficult to hold out too much hope because we'd all basically given up on Davis - who, let's not forget, was struggling to earn a role with the Browns - by last year. Almost $4 million is perhaps too much for a rotational player, so the team will have some decisions to make in terms of his role and contractual status if they intend to retain him.