As expected, the Jets have replaced one first-round bust at linebacker with another, adding Aaron Maybin to the mix.
Signed, sealed, and delivered, Maybin practiced with the Jets on Wednesday.
So why the Jets?
“Honestly, it was a whole bunch of factors that went into it,” Maybin said in comments distributed by the team. “Obviously, with me having a relationship with Coach Ryan already, he gave me a call and we had a chance to speak. For him to make that effort to reach out to me [was nice]. The things that we talked about, the mentalities that we kind of discussed on the phone and some of the possibilities that we had the opportunity to talk about, I just felt comfortable [with] and I didn’t really want to play for anybody else.
“Coach Ryan, he has that effect on a lot of players, but I’ve known him for some time. He knows me. He knows my family and he knows the kind of player I am. It just felt like [it is] a great situation for me to come [to], to get a fresh start and for me to be able to help the team win.”
Staying in the AFC East also was part of the process. “I’m not going to lie and say that that wasn’t an added bonus, but, obviously, that wasn’t the biggest factor,” Maybin said. “That is a nice little added piece to the puzzle.”
Still, the decision seems to have been more about the Jets than the Bills.
“Whenever you hear anybody talk about the Jets organization so many great things come to mind,” Maybin said. “They talk about family, they talk about commitment, they talk about loyalty. They talk about so many things that, as a player that’s what you look for in an organization. For myself, from the outside looking in, having an opportunity to choose where it was that I go. You put my checklist up there, and all those are attributes that I was looking for, so it just ended up being a perfect fit.”
We’ll see if Maybin says the same things if he doesn’t make the 53-man roster.
But it sounds like he may stick around, given Ryan’s assessment of the third-year player.
"[H]e has that body type, that long, lean body type of those great pass rushers,” Ryan said. “He can get off the football now. I think it’ll be interesting to see him in this system. I think he has a chance. You look for these kind of guys that can have that burst to the quarterback. We’re really excited that he’s here.”
It’s hard not to wonder whether the Jets’ attraction to Maybin was fueled in part by the Bills’ ability to pilfer receiver/quarterback Brad Smith while the Jets were wooing Nnamdi Asomugha. If so, it adds another layer of spice to the AFC East twice-per-year round robin.
It’s also hard not to wonder whether the Jets opted to give Maybin a second chance given their inability to get the most out of Vernon Gholston in his first chance.