The New York Jets may have released Corey Davis this offseason, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want him back.
Head coach Robert Saleh revealed at the Annual League Meeting that the team has been in “constant talks” with him during free agency.
“Love CD. Tremendous athlete, [a] tremendous man, [and a] tremendous locker room presence. He knows how we all feel about him & our door is always going to be open for him,” Saleh continued.
.@Connor_J_Hughes asked #Jets HC Robert Saleh where do things stand with Corey Davis:
‘We’ll see. We’ve talked to him. We are in constant talks with him. Love CD. Tremendous athlete. Tremendous man. Tremendous locker room presence. He knows how we all feel about him & our door… pic.twitter.com/KC193Wqz8c
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) March 25, 2024
The former No. 5 overall pick walked away from the game of football in August of 2023. Davis has scored 17 touchdowns during his six-year NFL career.
Jets Aren’t Done Adding Pieces to the Team
Saleh met with the media for over 32 minutes at the Annual League Meeting.
One of the topics of conversation was the depth of the wide receiver position. Gang Green made a big splash by signing Mike Williams, but many analysts have argued that the team needed to add two pass catchers this offseason.
Saleh when asked if the receiver room is set said he didn’t want to speak for general manager Joe Douglas but, “it’s not done in the sense that there is a lot of work to do and a lot of things that we need to get accomplished to be better than we were a year ago.”
Davis would be an attractive option for the Jets on multiple levels. He was with the team through the bulk of training camp and into the preseason last year. Davis was building chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. He would likely come relatively cheap considering he was on the couch all of last season.
The Jets are interested in Davis returning, but is the feeling mutual?
Rich Cimini of ESPN wrote in a column posted on Sunday, March 17 that, “the sense is that [Davis] will explore the market and prefers a team closer to his home in Nashville, Tennessee.”
For those out there hoping for a Corey Davis #Jets reunion, it’s not looking good…
Rich Cimini of ESPN said there is interest from the NYJ side of things BUT “the sense is that he will explore the market and prefers a team closer to his home in Nashville, Tennessee.”
For those out there hoping for a Corey Davis #Jets reunion, it's not looking good…
Rich Cimini of ESPN said there is interest from the NYJ side of things BUT "the sense is that he will explore the market and prefers a team closer to his home in Nashville, Tennessee."
Sounds… pic.twitter.com/Wd5ppGbAx3
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) March 17, 2024
Questionable Return Timeline Reveals Glaring Hole at WR for Jets
Saleh bluntly said that Williams has “a long way to go” in his recovery from a torn ACL last season. There is confidence in the building that he will be ready for the 2024 season opener, but things look murky for training camp.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said WR Mike Williams has a ‘long way to go’ in his rehab from a torn ACL + said he will be on the Breece Hall timeline from last year + ‘very confident’ he will be ready for Week 1 + said they’ve been a ‘big fan of his for awhile.’
🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/5Y8ozpqKI4
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) March 25, 2024
In response to that, Jets analyst and host of “Badlands” Joe Caporoso said this was, “A needed reminder that [Allen] Lazard is technically still WR3 and thus WR remains a major need heading into the NFL Draft…”
A needed reminder that Lazard is technically still WR3 and thus WR remains a major need heading into the NFL Draft… https://t.co/YAT7ej0kYH
— Joe Caporoso (@JCaporoso) March 25, 2024
The Jets are excited about the Williams addition to the offense. Why wouldn’t they be?
The 6-foot-4, 218-pound wideout is an absolute stud and a perfect complement to Garrett Wilson. However, he’s coming off of a torn ACL.
Every player recovers from that injury differently. Some players take time to return to their former selves, if at all. Others, like Breece Hall, proved to be an outlier to the rule and showed exactly the same juice that made them special pre-injury.
Who knows how Williams will bounce back? Douglas’ job is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst-case scenario. New York needs a Williams insurance plan and more depth at the wide receiver position.
Whether that’s Davis, another veteran, or a rookie in April’s draft is still to be determined.
