Jets Pick Up Former Lions QB Drew Stanton

LaRon Landry will join the New York Jets on a one-year contract, according to Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network. The veteran safety could be a major asset to Rex Ryan's secondary, though that's assuming he can stay healthy. Landry has started just 17 games combined over the last two seasons.

Landry also drew interest from the New England Patriots before settling on with their rivals in New York. The Jets needed safety help, either through free agency or the 2012 NFL Draft, considering Jim Leonhard's knee problems. Landry spent the last five seasons with the Washington Redskins, building a reputation as a big hitter and a workout warrior.

Landry played in just eight games in his most recent season due to groin and Achilles' injuries, recording 48 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He failed to get his hands on an interception.

For more on the Jets, check out Gang Green Nation. Follow all the news and rumors in NFL free agency at SB Nation's NFL hub.

The New York Jets were reportedly bringing in free agent QB Brady Quinn for a visit on Friday but they may have found their backup quarterback elsewhere. According to Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News, the Jets signed former Detroit Lions QB Drew Stanton. The deal is for one year, according to the report.

No word on what this means for Quinn's visit, which was reportedly scheduled for Friday. The Jets were also connected to QB Chad Henne in free agency.

Stanton is a former second round pick by the Lions in the 2007 NFL draft. He's 2-2 in his four career starts and has completed 55.6 percent of his passes.

He'll be backing up Mark Sanchez in New York. The Jets, after reportedly checking out Peyton Manning, gave Sanchez a contract extension earlier this month.

For more on the Jets in free agency, check out SB Nation's Gang Green Nation and SB Nation New York.

Free agent safety LaRon Landry is drawing some interest in free agency. The New England Patriots have set up a visit with the former Washington Redskin, and now comes a report from the NY Daily News that Landry will also be visiting the Jets.

Per Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News, Landry will be visiting the Jets this weekend. It's unclear when his visit with the Patriots will take place.

The Jets have been connected to safeties throughout this offseason, with some mock drafts sending them a safety in the first round. That's one of their needs, and signing someone like Landry could help shore that up.

Landry is a very good safety -- when healthy. The problem, of course, is that he hasn't been healthy lately. He's coming off two injury-riddled seasons which resulted in just 17 starts in the last two seasons combined.

For more on the Jets, check out Gang Green Nation. Follow all the news and rumors in NFL free agency at SB Nation's NFL hub.

Denver Broncos free agent quarterback Brady Quinn will pay a visit to the New York Jets on Friday, according to the Denver Post.

The Jets are looking for a backup to Mark Sanchez. At one time, it was believed they would try to sign Chad Henne, who worked with New York offensive coordinator Tony Sparano while he was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. That was when the Jets supposedly wanted a quarterback who could push Sanchez.

Quinn, 27, was the Cleveland Browns' first-round pick in 2007. He was traded to the Broncos in 2010 in exchange for Peyton Hillis and two draft picks. Quinn has not played in a regular-season game since Dec. 20, 2009, against the Kansas City Chiefs. During the 2009 season, Quinn went 136-for-256 with 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Mark Sanchez signed a three-year, $40.5 million extension with the Jets on March 9.

For more on the Jets, check out Gang Green Nation. Follow all the news and rumors in NFL free agency at SB Nation's NFL hub.

After heading to the AFC Championship game two years in a row, the Jets finished the 2011 season with an 8-8 record and there was a lot of locker room troubles that caused the team to fall apart. The struggles of the team were highlighted by Mark Sanchez's struggles at quarterback. The Jets need to fix things in the locker room and on the field but unfortunately for them, they don't have a lot of money to spend in free agency.

The big-named free agents that are likely leaving New York for greener pastures are running back LaDainian Tomlinson and wide receiver Plaxico Burress. NT Sione Pouha was recently re-signed. The Jets will do most of their building in the draft and they'll likely let guys like Burress and Thomas go.

When it comes to signing players, the Jets would be smart to surround Sanchez with more receiving talent and one target could be Vincent Jackson, who is all set to leave San Diego. He would give Sanchez another down field target and could help move the ball down the field. Finding some depth at running back could be smart and signing a couple good pass rushers would help the team as well.

For more free agency updates, head to SB Nation's Jets blog, Gang Green Nation.

Sione Pouha won't be hitting free agency. According to the Star-Ledger, Pouha and the New York Jets agreed to a three-year contract extension. If he wasn't signed, Pouha would have become an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday afternoon.

This was one of the priorities for the Jets this offseason, and reports last week said the team was close to a deal, so it shouldn't be a surprise that it got done.

Pouha joined the Jets in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft. He wasn't a starter until the 2009 season, Rex Ryan's first year, after Kris Jenkins went down with a season-ending injury. He started the following season as a backup before being pushed back into the starting lineup with another Jenkins injury.

Pouha is 33 years old, so a three-year deal sounds about right for him. He'll get paid, and the Jets have assurances at nose tackle for the short term future.

For more on the Jets in free agency, check out SB Nation's Gang Green Nation and SB Nation New York.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne is slated to hit the open market on Tuesday March 13 at 4 p.m. ET at the start of NFL free agency and already has a couple of teams that are interested in his services as a backup quarterback. The New York Jets are expected to be one of the teams who will be interested in Henne's services, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.

But the Jets will try to upgrade the No. 2 spot, with former Dolphins starter Chad Henne expected to be their top target. He already knows the offense, having played under coordinator Tony Sparano in Miami. Some league insiders believe Henne is ticketed for the Jets.

Cimini notes that with the recent extension of starting quarterback Mark Sanchez, however, the Jets are not an ideal situation for a quarterback who's looking to compete, as Sanchez's salary is likely going to keep him on the football field for a little while.

For more on the Dolphins, visit SB Nation's The Phinsider. For more on the New York Jets visit Gang Green Nation.

It was an interesting late Friday night in the NFL world, with the news that the St. Louis Rams and Washington Redskins coming to an agreement for the No. 2 pick, a lock to be used Robert Griffin III, dominating the headlines. But at just about the same time, the New York Jets announced they had signed Mark Sanchez to a three-year contract extension. Sanchez has two years left on his rookie deal, and stands to get paid in a big way, both in the present and future.

Here's the details of his contract extension.

Terms of deal: 3-year extension for 58.25 million, plus another 10 million in escalators. #nyj

— Jenny Vrentas (@JennyVrentas) March 10, 2012

That may seem like a steep price considering Sanchez's performance but lets consider ...

Sanchez will get $27M guaranteed over next two years. Means he ain't going anywhere for a while. #Jets

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) March 10, 2012

Oh man. This isn't going to go over well with Jets fans who have been calling for Sanchez's head.

After quickly falling out of the running in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes, the New York Jets announced late on Friday night that they are committing to beleaguered quarterback Mark Sanchez long term, signing the third-year quarterback to a three-year contract extension. The team held a conference call with reporters announcing the move, but did not disclose the terms of the deal.

The move is sure to draw confusion and some anger from Jets fans who watched Sanchez not only regress in his third season, but also lose control of the locker room while highly paid wide receiver Santonio Holmes lost focus and effort. Sanchez threw a career-high 26 touchdowns in 2011, but also threw 18 interceptions, his performance suffering while the Jets didn't capitalize on opportunities to make the playoffs down the stretch.

He had two years left on his lucrative rookie contract. In the conference call, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum admitted the team inquired about Peyton Manning, but had been in discussion to extend Sanchez for weeks.

For reaction to the Sanchez extension, visit Jets blog Gang Green Nation and SB Nation New York.

The New York Jets are trying to bring back defensive lineman Sione Pouha without having to place the franchise tag on him. Pouha has been a vital member of the Jets three-man defensive line, and according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the Jets are expected to sign him to a multi-year deal before free agency starts.

#Jets still expect to sign Sione Pouha to multi-yr deal b4 start of free agency, per sources. #NYJ not expected to use franchise tag on him

— Manish Mehta(@TheJetsStream) March 5, 2012

The Jets are not expected to use the franchise tag on Pouha, which could mean a deal between the two sides could come later today, prior to the 4 p.m. ET deadline for using the franchise tender. The seven-year veteran has been with the Jets since his rookie season in 2005.

For all news and information regarding the New York Jets, please visit Gang Green Nation.

The New York Jets have a few needs they can fill in free agency. Oddly enough, one of their needs is at the back-up quarterback position. One player the Jets could target in free agency is quarterback Jason Campbell, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.

The Jets have discussed the possibility of pursuing free-agent QB Jason Campbell (Raiders). He led the Raiders to a 4-2 start last season before suffering a season-ending collarbone injury. One of Ryan's new coaches is very familiar with Campbell -- former Raiders WRs coach Sanjay Lal.

The Jets' back-up quarterback the past few seasons has been veteran Mark Brunell, who is a pending free agent. Campbell shouldn't be too expensive on the market, and he could be an effective starter in a bind or in case Mark Sanchez falls off a cliff early in the season.

For all news and information regarding the New York Jets, please visit Gang Green Nation.

Both Braylon Edwards and his former team, the New York Jets, probably wish they'd had better seasons in 2011. Edwards had opted for a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason and the New York Jets attempted to fill the wide receiver vacancy with Plaxico Burress. Both experiments ended up being less than the teams and players had hoped for.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the Jets would be interested in bringing Edwards back to the fold for 2012 if he is healthy. Edwards was waived by the 49ers prior to the end of the season and Burress is unlikely to be re-signed by the team.

Edwards had a rough year in San Francisco, underperforming and dealing with injuries. He led the Jets in receiving yards and touchdown catches in 2010, but could not match that output with new quarterback Alex Smith. It is unclear whether Edwards would be interested in a return to New York.

For all news and information regarding the New York Jets, please visit Gang Green Nation.

The New York Jets 2011 season didn't go as planned after the team missed the playoffs and saw the locker room seemingly implode throughout the course of the year. Another potential distraction will come from linebacker Bart Scott. According to the NY Daily News, the Jets have given Scott permission to seek a trade.

His contract -- six years, $48 million -- was signed back in 2009 and includes a reported $4.2 million guaranteed base salary this year. It's hard to see the Jets cutting him with that kind of money on the line. And it's also hard to see anyone trading for him with that contract.

Scott was one of the first high profile free agents Rex Ryan signed after taking the Jets job in 2009. Scott originally came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2002 before breaking in as a regular contributor to the Baltimore Ravens defense.

The New York Jets have a few key free agents they'd like to keep, namely nose tackle Sione Pouha, but the Jets are tight against the salary cap. Thankfully, left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson has agree to restructure his contract to free up some 2012 cap space, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

The Jets converted $9 million of Ferguson's $9.985 million base salary in 2012 to a signing bonus to give the team more cap space, according to a source.

The cap value of the converted signing bonus will be spread over the remaining six years of Ferguson's contract. So, the Jets will get an additional $7.5 million of cap relief this season. Gang Green had very little cap flexibility before the move.

Ferguson signed a huge eight-year, $73.6 million contract extension prior to the 2010 season. With the restructure, it will push some of that salary to the back end of the contract and give the Jets a bit more flexibility to spend in the 2012 offseason.

For all news and information on D'Brickashaw Ferguson and regarding the New York Jets, please visit Gang Green Nation.

The New York Jets are one of the few teams in the NFL that are tight against the salary cap heading into the 2012 NFL offseason. This will make it tough for the Jets to easily keep some key players on their team by placing the franchise tag on them, including defensive lineman Sione Pouha. It's unlikely the Jets will franchise Pouha, opting instead to try for a long term deal, according to Jenny Vrentas of The Star-Ledger.

Sione Pouha, arguably Jets' most key FA, not expected to be tagged, source says. Jets tight on cap space, should go for multi-yr deal. #nyj

— Jenny Vrentas (@JennyVrentas) February 20, 2012

Pouha took over the starting nose tackle position during the 2009 season and has been a key cog in the Jets' defense ever since. The franchise tag number for defensive tackles is around $8 million, which the Jets cannot currently afford to pay Pouha in one season on the cap. According to Vrentas, the Jets are expected to work for a longer deal with the nose tackle.

For all news and information on Sione Pouha and regarding the New York Jets, please visit Gang Green Nation.