The Jets traded for wide receiver Brandon Marshall last year and signed running back Matt Forte this week, so they clearly don’t have a problem acquiring players with experience in the Bears offense.
They are also showing interest in players from the other side of the ball in Chicago. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins is telling friends that he’s working out a deal with the Jets after visiting with them on Friday.
Jenkins started 15 games for the Bears last season and started 33 games for the Redskins over the previous three seasons. He had 32 tackles and four sacks in 2015 and the Jets could use some depth up front on defense with Damon Harrison jumping to the Giants as a free agent.
Jenkins wasn’t the only 2015 Bear visiting the Jets on Friday. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that linebacker Shea McClellin also met with the team.
McClellin has played both outside and inside for the Bears since they drafted him in the first round of the 2012 draft, but the fact that they didn’t pick up his fifth-year option speaks to his struggles at both spots. Demario Davis, Erin Henderson and Jamari Lattimore are all free agents, which leaves the Jets short on inside linebackers other than David Harris.
UPDATE 5:33 p.m. ET: Jenkins has signed a three-year deal with the Jets worth $2 million a year, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
UPDATE 6:10 p.m. ET: Mehta and Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports report the deal with Jenkins is not finalized yet, although the expectation is that it will get done.