The Saints put a second-round tender on restricted free agent running back Chris Ivory, but the Jets are hoping to get him from New Orleans for less than that.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that Ivory visited the Jets’ facility on Friday, and the Jets are interested in acquiring him. However, they are not interested in giving up their second-round draft pick, No. 39 overall, to get him. So the Jets won’t be signing Ivory to a restricted free agent offer sheet.
Instead, the Jets are hoping that they can both agree to a contract with Ivory and agree to terms with the Saints on a trade that would bring Ivory to New York for a late-round pick.
Ivory has played well in limited action since joining the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2010. In three years he has played in 24 games with 10 starts, carrying 256 times for 1,307 yards (a 5.1-yard average) and eight touchdowns. With the Saints he has struggled to get consistent playing time in a crowded backfield that also includes Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram. But with the Jets he’d have a chance of earning the starting job in a backfield that currently consists of Bilal Powell, Mike Goodson and Joe McKnight.