Jets head coach Robert Saleh spoke at the NFL’s annual league meeting in Florida on Monday, and while he discussed Mekhi Becton’s health and a lot of other housekeeping, the first question he got was about someone who WON’T be in camp: Tyreek Hill.
Specifically, Saleh was asked his thoughts on Hill seemingly spurning New York and instead being dealt to Miami earlier this month – and the Gang Green boss took that opportunity to praise a player he will now see twice a year.
"Obviously, Tyreek is a special player with a special skill set and dynamic speed,” Saleh said. “It's very easy to get him the football, and we thought it'd be a really good opportunity when it was presented to us to add an elite player to our offense along with all the other really good players that we have now.”
Trade speculation came together very quickly last week, with the Jets and Dolphins emerging as finalists, but it was Miami who dealt five draft picks over the next two years to KC for Hill, who also got a four-year, $120 million extension with $72.2 million guaranteed.
“Obviously, Joe (Douglas) was aggressive, took a big swing. It didn't work out. Win some, lose some. But happy we tried it,” Saleh said of the situation. “It's football. You win some, you lose some. The young man wanted to go to Miami. We knew that. We knew we had to be aggressive, which it felt like we were. Really excited for him that he gets his opportunity to go back home. And really excited for the opportunity to compete against him."
All that, despite Hill quipping “Who?” when asked how close he was to coming to New York at his post-trade press conference in Miami.
Per reports, the Jets’ deal offer didn’t include either of their 2022 first-rounders, although Gang Green does have two second-round picks – Nos. 35 and 38, the latter of which comes from Carolina in the Sam Darnold deal – in between the No. 29 and No. 50 picks the Chiefs gave up.
Despite the pursuit of Hill, though, Saleh said he “didn’t know” if adding a receiver is a priority. Hill being a dynamic player of course adds to any team he joins, but the Jets’ only move on that front so far is re-signing Braxton Berrios.
“I don’t know if it’s a priority. You want to add as many good players as we can, and we’ve got a lot of draft capital to do some of that,” Saleh said. “We have a lot of needs on our football team in terms of just trying to fill some roster voids. I thought we did a great job in free agency, so to call it a priority one over the other, I don’t know if I see it that way. We’re in a good position to take the best available players at every single spot and that’s something we’ll do.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch