Laveranues Coles' contract conflagration seems to have put down for now. The Jets and the receiver agreed that their current contract, which had Coles playing two more years for $11 million total, will be guaranteed. Coles had been trying to get a long-term deal done, adding a few years to the current contract, but this was the compromise according to NFL sources. ESPN reported the news earlier this morning. There had been reports that Coles and the Jets had reached an agreement that would add years to the deal, but those were inaccurate.
So what does this mean? Well, the Jets get a pretty darn good receiver for two years in Coles and will pay him what they would have paid him over that span anyway. Coles doesn't have to worry that if he gets one more thump on the head he could be working the professional bowling circuit rather than the NFL.
When Coles' current contract expires he'll have just turned 32. My guess is that if Coles is productive in 2008 (i.e. healthy) the issue may be revisited next offseason. Barring injuries, this isn't the contract that will let Coles finish his career with the Jets. But it will get him close.
Comments (2)
Run, Run, Pass should be the philosophy. Otherwise, why all the OL moves in FA? The key to Coles' success is going to be Stuckey in the slot. Coles should be going over the middle a lot less than he has been, which should help keep him healthy. And, if he stays healthy, he can be as good as anybody out there...IF he's got a QB that can hit him consistently. He's going to retire a Jet!
I've always felt that the Coles for Moss trade was one of the better moves even though Coles has yet to put up huge numbers. He's got incredible hands, great vertical, runs awesome routes and he's one of the fastest guys out there...that being said, why the hell do we still have Pennington throwing to him? He's a guy who can go deep and make plays like Greg Jennings, Steve Smith (2 years ago), Randy Moss (little bit of a stretch). Clemens has a cannon and if we can finally build an offense that stretches the field using that arm and Coles' speed, we should see some incredible success. It's hard to run when teams can sit all of their guys withing 15 yards because our quarterback has the arm of a 12 year old. Pennington's smart, but after so many shoulder injuries there isn't enough pop left in the arm.