The New York Jets could trade a free agent they signed months after inking him to a deal.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report listed veteran offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor as a “top trade asset” for the Jets this offseason. Okorafor, 27, signed a one-year $1.19 million contract in free agency with the green and white.
Okorafor has appeared in 78 games and has made 60 starts. The former Western Michigan product is expected to serve as a valuable swing tackle for the Jets in 2025.
Jets Have a History of Flipping Free Agents for Assets
If this transpired, it wouldn’t be the first time the Jets have pulled something like this off.
On March 13, 2018, the Jets signed veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a one-year deal with a maximum value of $15 million.
He was coming off a devastating knee injury in 2016 that he struggled to recover from. Bridgewater tore his ACL and dislocated his knee during a practice session when he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings, per ESPN.
“It’s mangled,” Dan Cooper, Bridgewater’s surgeon, said via CBS Sports. “You make the skin incision, and there’s nothing there. It’s almost like a war wound. Everything is blown.”
The injury was so bad that Bridgewater nearly lost his leg, Will Brinson of CBS Sports revealed.
Those previous issues allowed the Jets to get him at a discount in free agency. While the maximum value of the contract was significant, the deal only included $500,000 in guaranteed money.
During his five months with the Jets, he got healthy and showed some flashes that he still had it.
On August 29, 2018, the Jets flipped Bridgewater and a 2019 sixth-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for a 2019 third-round pick.
Perhaps the Jets could repeat some history in 2025.
The Jets Would Be Stupid to Make That Trade
In 2018, the Jets traded Bridgewater to a desperate Saints team.
That move made sense. Bridgewater was never going to start for the Jets. He was on a one-year deal. The Jets landed their quarterback of the future in Sam Darnold, a month after signing Bridgewater.
Bridgewater wouldn’t have re-signed with the Jets in 2019 because he would have seen the writing on the wall that this would be Darnold’s team.
Trading him made sense. The Jets got something for him instead of losing him for nothing.
However, trading Okorafor in 2025 would make no sense.
While he doesn’t have a clear path to the starting lineup, he is still an important piece. If an injury happens at offensive tackle and specifically right tackle, Okorafor would jump right into the starting lineup.
There is a reason offensive linemen don’t get traded very often in the NFL. The talent at that positional group in the league is scarce, and if you have starters and or depth, you aren’t in a rush to get rid of it.
Whatever random future asset the Jets could maybe receive for Okorafor from a desperate team pales in comparison to the value he could provide as protection for quarterback Justin Fields.
The Jets should be praised for their savviness in 2018, getting a third-round pick for free from the Saints. However, they shouldn’t let that past success cloud their judgment on a different situation in 2025.
A luxury today can quickly become a necessity tomorrow. The Jets should keep their offensive linemen and let other teams scramble for options in the trenches.
