Maccagnan: Jets 'open for business' in every round of draft

By AP
Published

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The New York Jets are letting teams know that the No. 6 pick - as well as others - in the NFL draft can be theirs.

For the right price.

The Jets currently have seven total draft picks, but general manager Mike Maccagnan wouldn't mind a few more as the team embarks on what can be perceived as a rebuilding year.

''Every draft I've been in, I've always wanted to acquire more picks,'' Maccagnan told reporters at the NFL combine Friday. ''I think the one thing for ourselves would be, we would like to move back and acquire more picks in this draft if possible. ... We're open for business in every round.

''If somebody wants to move up in any particular round, call us up.''

He'd also be perfectly fine staying at No. 6, too.

''Personally, we're interested in having options going forward,'' he said.

Maccagnan has been busy the last several days creating nearly $46 million in salary cap space by releasing big-name players with big contracts, such as Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall and Nick Mangold.

The NFL's free agency period begins next Thursday, and Maccagnan was asked if the Jets might be done with roster cuts.

''I'm not going to speculate if we're going to make more,'' Maccagnan said. ''But I would say most of the major moves we made have been made.''

One player who could be considered a potential candidate for the chopping block is wide receiver Eric Decker, who is rehabilitating from offseason shoulder and hip surgeries. He is due to make $7.25 million this season, but Maccagnan declined to speculate as to whether Decker - or anyone else remaining on the roster - could be gone.

''Right now, Eric is under contract,'' Maccagnan said. ''Our goal is to get him healthy, and then kind of evaluate how he comes back off the injuries and go from there.''

Decker played in just three games last season, but would become the de facto No. 1 receiver on the Jets with Marshall gone. Maccagnan said Decker can run straight ahead right now, but his shoulder is still a few months away from being completely healthy.

''I think he should be able to compete in most of the OTAs, maybe some non-contact stuff,'' the GM said. ''When we go into training camp, we may restrict him a little bit, just to make sure he's good and ready to go. But he's been making good progress and he should be fine, I think. I anticipate him being ready to start the season, unless there's a setback that we're not aware of.''

Despite the roster purge, Maccagnan dismissed the notion that the Jets are firmly entrenched in a rebuilding mode.

''Some of the moves we've made will hopefully free up resources and salary cap space and money to go add pieces and parts to make us a better team,'' Maccagnan said. ''We're not doing this in terms of trying to make ourselves a worse team. Todd (Bowles) and I are in this together in the sense that we're doing everything to make us as competitive as possible moving forward.''

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