Jets to Sign Guard Laken Tomlinson to Three-Year Deal
The Jets made their first move of the legal tampering period of the 2022 NFL offseason, agreeing to terms with guard Laken Tomlinson on a three-year, $41.2 million contract with $28 million in guaranteed money.
ESPN's Adam Schefter was first to report the signing on Monday afternoon.
Tomlinson, 30, will head across the country to New York after spending the last five years of his career as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. He was a reliable fixture to the 49ers strong offensive line, starting in 80 of a potential 81 regular-season games, and is coming off his first-ever Pro Bowl season as an alternate selection.
Now, he’ll serve as the complimentary starting guard to second-year player Alijah Vera-Tucker, who was selected 13th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. General manager Joe Douglas has made both quick and strong commitments to fixing his offensive line, using first-round picks on both Vera-Tucker and tackle Mekhi Becton while also signing tackle Morgan Moses in the 2021 offseason.
While the Jets could shuffle the two around, the quick assumption is that Tomlinson will now move to start at the right guard position — something he has yet to do in his career — with Vera-Tucker holding strong at left guard. It’s never an easy ask for an athlete to flip his position to the opposite side, as easy as it may sound, but the Jets feel comfortable asking someone who has strong familiarity with the offense to do so.
Not only is this a huge addition to solidify the Jets’ starting offensive line, but it’s a perfect fit for offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and his run scheme. Tomlinson was PFF’s 13th-ranked guard in run blocking this past season and is best fit in the zone-heavy run scheme that LaFleur brought with him from San Francisco and installed in New York. The right guard position was a sore eye last season and the weakest link of their offensive line, which makes this a sizeable upgrade and an instant impact for the offense as a whole.
Tomlinson’s strength is certainly his run game, but that’s not to bash on his solid work in pass blocking. This past season was his best year when it came to keeping quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo upright, but he’s graded in the top half of the league in pass protection each of the last four seasons. Heading into this free-agency period, PFF ranked Tomlinson as the 20th-best available free agent and the second-best guard behind newly signed Jacksonville Jaguar Brandon Scherff.
With Tomlinson in fold, the Jets should feel strong about their offensive line heading into next season. While addressing the tackle position at pick No. 4 isn’t out of the question, having five slotted starting-caliber players is a great position to be in and something the Jets haven’t been able to say about themselves in quite some time. Long-term solutions at the tackle position are yet to be determined, with Moses being 31 years of age and Becton showing some concerns over availability, but that’s not to say either are incapable of being starters for the immediate future.
As long as all five are available for the start of the season this unit has top-10 potential, and the signing of Tomlinson adds a much-needed ferocity up front that makes life easier for its offensive coordinator in LaFleur, its running back in Michael Carter and certainly its quarterback in Zach Wilson.
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