We haven’t reached the point of the offseason when it is time to make predictions about how teams will stack up when the 2017 season comes to an end, but it’s probably fair to say that there aren’t too many people who expect the Jets to be anywhere near the top of the list.
Their offseason has seen several veterans leave the roster as the Jets recalibrate after falling short of the postseason for the sixth straight season. Others might use the word rebuild given how much the team has scaled things back, but cornerback Buster Skrine is not a proponent of using that word.
The roster of a 5-11 team may have been purged of Nick Mangold, Brandon Marshall, Darrelle Revis and others, but Skrine says the team still has pieces on hand that lead him to believe they are “going to have a good year.”
“You can’t rebuild in New York,” Skrine said, via ESPN.com. “Because y’all will eat us up,” he said with a smile, alluding to the media. “Ain’t no rebuilding here. It’s getting right to the point. This is a competing team. We still have the players to compete.”
Skrine played for the Browns, so he’s been through roster teardowns in the past and said he trusts coach Todd Bowles and General Manager Mike Maccagnan are “going to make it work” and pointed to an improved atmosphere after things got messy during the 2016 season. That optimism might not be shared by many outside the organization, but Skrine’s not conceding the 2017 season at this point.