Jets Trade Former-Pro Bowler to New Orleans

The New York Jets have agreed to send Pro Bowl linebacker, Jonathan Vilma, to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a fourth round pick in 2009. Once the leader of the Jets defense, Vilma fell out of favor with Eric Mangini because of his inability to play to his star potential in the 3-4 defense.

This is a really sad day for all Jets fans. In 2005, Vilma had a monster season in which he led the NFL in tackles (128 solo, 173 overall). He seemed poised to live up to the promise Jets fans had for the middle linebacker when he was drafted in 2004. However, after the season Mangini was hired as head coach, and the Jets changed defenses from the 4-3 to the 3-4.

Vilma was just never the same. His tackles went down 40% in 2006, and last year he struggled before going down with a season ending knee injury. This is an excellent pickup for the Saints though. They only gave away a fourth round pick for one of the best middle linebackers in the sport. I think this will revitalize Vilma's career by getting to play once again in a defensive style in which he greatly excelled. I expect Vilma to mightily help a talented Saints team that should rebound after a rough 2007 campaign.

Despite this being a sad day, it appears the Jets are about to make some big acquisitions for their offensive and defensive lines. They seem set to trade a 3rd and 5th round pick to Carolina for defensive lineman, Kris Jenkins. This is a great pickup for the Jets. Jenkins is a Pro Bowl tackle who should bring some life to a line that had trouble stopping running backs last season. The Jets are also close to bringing in free agent, Alan Faneca, from Pittsburgh. Faneca is a seven-time Pro Bowler who will give the Jets a veteran on the offensive line that suffered with the departure of Pete Kendall before last year. These two moves definitely help a team that had really bad lines last season.

Pat Morgan