When the Jets’ offseason house cleaning moved on to linebacker David Harris and wide receiver Eric Decker over the last week or so, it wasn’t hard to find people sharing their opinion that the Jets look like a team doing everything they can to get the first overall pick of the 2018 draft.
Arguing that a team with just five players over the age of 28 isn’t in rebuilding mode would be difficult, but one of those players pushed back against the notion that the Jets will be OK with losing a lot in 2017. Running back Matt Forte scoffed at the idea that the Jets won’t be competitive with their current roster or that the outside opinions of the team are taking root in the locker room.
“It’s a good thing we don’t operate off of what the fans think and what everybody on the outside thinks,” Forte said, via the Associated Press. “What we think as a team, that’s what’s going to happen. And none of us on the team think that we’re going to tank. So all I have to say about that is: Bring it.”
Forte is entering his second year with the Jets and his $4 million in guaranteed salary for the coming season may be the reason why he survived the purge of veterans this offseason. That may not save him if the Jets’ decision makers opt for bottoming out completely, but he says he hasn’t heard or worried about anything on that front.