The New York Jets have begun making a couple of moves today, signing two new players who are likely to emerge as starters while losing one to the Miami Dolphins. The team announced that they have signed running back Mike Goodson and offensive guard Willie Colon, who played most of his career at tackle.
In addition, it was announced today that the Dolphins have signed tight end Dustin Keller. Keller missed half of the season last year with injuries, starting just five games; however, he had not missed a game in his four-year career. He signed just a one-year deal with Miami, worth $4.25 million.
Running back Mike Goodson inked a three-year, $6.9 million contract with the Jets today after Shonn Greene signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the Tennessee Titans. While Goodson has never fulfilled a feature back role in his young career with the Carolina Panthers and the Oakland Raiders, he has performed very well in his limited playing time and will likely compete to be the starting back.
Willie Colon is likely coming to the Jets as a guard, considering both guards—Matt Slauson and Brandon Moore—are unrestricted free agents; however, he played his entire career leading up to 2012 exclusively as a right tackle.
Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers moved Colon to left guard after drafting tackle Mike Adams in the second round of the NFL draft. it should be noted that he missed all but one game out of a possible 32 games between 2010 and 2011 with injuries, so he was adjusting not only to an unfamiliar position, but also to simply playing football again.
It is not surprising, then, that Colon got off to a slow start in 2012, but once he got going, the Steelers really started to produce in the ground game. During one stretch in the middle of the season, the team averaged over 150 yards per game for four straight games. But Colon suffered a knee injury at the end of that stretch and was placed on injured reserve.
The Steelers elected to release Colon not for his play, but for his durability concerns over the past three seasons, which they simply could not afford any longer after giving him a sizable contract in 2010. So if Colon can stay healthy, his one-year, $1.2 million contract that he signed could be a bargain for the Jets.
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