Free agent Timmy Jernigan is a low-risk, high-reward gamble for the New York Jets

The saga of Timmy Jernigan is one of intrigue, where a once-promising player has fallen out of favor with the Philadelphia Eagles. Early in the off-season, Jernigan was courted by the Houston Texans, but then they got scared away.

New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas knows Jernigan from his days as a Vice President of Player Personnel of the Eagles.

Name: Timmy Jernigan, defensive tackle 

Profile: Jernigan was a key member of the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl champion defense. That year he started 15 games at defensive tackle and registered 34 tackles, 18 quarterback pressures and hits nine tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks in 492 snaps.

He was drafted No. 48 overall in the second round by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2014 NFL Draft as a junior out of Florida State. The 6’2, 295-pound lineman was traded during the 2017 draft to the Eagles. After the Super Bowl, Jernigan has back surgery. He missed half of 2018 and played only 45 snaps that year.

In the 2018 playoffs, he rebounded with two pressures and two sacks.

2019 Stats: A broken foot caused Jernigan to miss six games last season. His numbers dropped, amassing just 10 tackles and two sacks as a rotational tackle the majority of the year.

2019 Salary and Contract: Jernigan was an unrestricted free agent in March 2019, but wound up re-signing with the Eagles for just the one year, putting him back on the market this offseason.

The Fit: Jernigan is only 27-years old. Early in free agency, the Texans had reached an agreement with him for a one year $3.75 million deal. The Texans said they backed out of the deal because of health concerns.

Clearly, that would be a red flag. No one, not even the great Jadeveon Clowney can take a physical under the current NFL restrictions due to COVID-19. Three months have passed since that Texans deal. The Seattle Seahawks have reportedly taken an interest but nothing has materialized.

This is a buy low, high reward signing the Jets could use. Douglas knows what Jernigan can bring to the table.

His recent struggle with injuries and consistency on the Eagles as well as his contractual issue with the Texans, the Jets being cost-conscious one month away from (hopefully) the start of training camp shouldn’t be a detractor for Jernigan to join the fold. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams would surely love another interior lineman and the Jets could use him in their rotation.

At first glance, it wouldn’t seem to be a fit. Taking a closer look, if the numbers add up for Jernigan, it might just be a fit with the Jets.