The Jets Just Found Their Next Shut-Down Corner: $14.5 Million Super Bowl Champ to Replace D.J. Reed
The New York Jets have some big shoes to fill on their defense next season.
Cornerback D.J. Reed developed into a star in New York, steadily improving during his three-year tenure opposite Sauce Gardner in the Jets’ star-studded secondary. Unfortunately for the Jets, he’s now a free agent, and it seems nearly certain he won’t be back in green next season.
If Reed is indeed going to be gone, the Jets will have to decide how to replace the big hole he leaves behind. They could go corner with one of their top draft picks or they could shell out some money in free agency to try and replace Reed exactly how they found him.
Would a member of new head coach Aaron Glenn’s 2024 Detroit Lions defense be just the right fit for the Jets to supplant Reed in the secondary?
On Monday, USA Today’s Nick Brinkerhoff predicted that the Jets would sign free-agent corner Carlton Davis, fresh off a successful one-year, $14.5 million contract with the Lions in 2024.
“Davis thrived in Glenn’s scheme last season in Detroit, making him the perfect player to follow the coach to the Jets,” Brinkerhoff wrote.
“He’ll be one of the top cornerbacks on the market and could prove to be too costly, but the fit makes too much sense to ignore. We should expect to see some of Glenn’s former players head to “Gang Green” and Davis just happens to be among the best of the bunch.”
Davis, 28, had a pair of interceptions, 11 passes defended, and a 77.0 passer rating allowed in coverage last season. He’s also a former Super Bowl champion, having been a key member of the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Glenn is bound to help the Jets land an exciting free agent or two this offseason. Davis would be an exciting fit with the rest of the hungry New York defense in 2025.
