Joe Douglas Addresses Why the New York Jets Didn't Sign Logan Ryan This Offseason
During the offseason, the New York Jets were heavily linked with several prominent free agents on the defensive side of the ball. One of those players was cornerback Logan Ryan.
Coming off arguably his best season in the NFL, it seemed a natural fit between the Jets and Ryan. The Jets could use some more depth at cornerback and Ryan was among the best in the NFL a season ago.
Reports indicated that the Jets were close on a deal with Ryan two months ago but it never materialized. Last week, Ryan signed with the New York Giants and Jets general manager Joe Douglas was asked by the cornerback on Monday.
“We had discussions with Logan Ryan’s representatives,” Douglas said in a virtual conference call with the media. “We just - we could never find the common ground to get that deal done.”
Ryan is a former standout at Rutgers who has established himself a top-tier cornerback in the NFL.
Last year for the Tennessee Titans, Ryan had 113 tackles, 4.5 sacks, four interceptions and eight quarterback hits in what was the best all-around season of his NFL career. His strong play in the secondary is a major reason why the Titans advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
He had 18 tackles, two passes defended and two tackles for a loss in the playoffs as well as an interception of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the Titans’ AFC Wild Card win at Foxboro.
The Jets added some quality pieces to the secondary this offseason, even with the trade of All-Pro safety Jamal Adams in late-July. But a player like Ryan was seen as a possible fit, especially given his local connections having been a star player for Rutgers.
Douglas was asked if the original report from Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, who has broken numerous stories on the team over the past decade, negatively impacted the Jets decision to sign Ryan.
“No, we had discussions with his representatives after that report came out,” Douglas said.
Across town, Ryan spoke to the media for the first time on Monday. He said that returning to New Jersey and playing close to Rutgers was very appealing. Ryan’s head coach at Rutgers, Greg Schiano, is back chopping with the program.
“Coach Schiano reached out,” Ryan said. “He congratulated me, happy to have me back in the area and I was ecstatic. We definitely exchanged texts and talked about that, I thanked him for that. I think Rutgers is excited to have me back. I look forward to helping their team out when I get the chance.”
