The Jets have signed 27-year old safety LaRon Landry to a 1-year, $4 million dollar deal.  Landry played in 8 games for the Redskins last year and he had 48 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  Landry has now played in 64 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 383 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 13 tackles for a loss, 6 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 32 passes defensed and 4 interceptions.  This was a good signing for the Jets as Landry is a tough guy at the back end of the defense.

The Jets have signed 27-year old QB Drew Stanton to a 1-year, $1.25 million dollar deal to back up Mark Sanchez in 2012.  Stanton didn’t get into any games for the Lions last year.  He has played in 12 games (4 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 104 of 187 passes (55.6%) for 1,158 yards with 5 TD passes and 9 INTs (63.1 QB Rating).  Stanton has also carried the ball 30 times for 166 yards (5.5 ypc) with 2 TD carries so far in his career.  Stanton is 2-2 (50%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

UPDATE:  (3/24/2012) – The Jets have dealt Drew Stanton and a 7th round pick in 2012 to the Indianapolis Colts for a 6th round pick in 2012.

The Jets have signed 26-year old WR Chaz Schilens to a 1-year, $765,000 dollar deal.  Schilens played in 15 games for the Raiders last year and he caught 23 passes for 271 yards (11.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 44 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 72 passes for 902 yards (12.5 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  The Jets hope that Schilens can stay healthy (always an issue with him) and help them lessen the blow of losing Plaxico Burress.

The Jets have released 27-year old safety Gerald Alexander.  Alexander played in 1 game for the Jets last year but he didn’t have any tackles.  Alexander played in 42 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 159 tackles, 14 passes defensed, 4 interceptions, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 1 tackle for a loss.  This is no loss for the Jets.

The Jets have re-signed 27-year old kicker Nick Folk to a 1-year deal.  Folk played in all 16 games for the Jets last year and he connected on 19 of 25 (76%) field goals and all 44 of his extra points last year, good for 101 points.  Folk has now played in 32 games in his first two years with the Jets and he has made 49 of 64 field goals (76.6%) and 81 of 81 extra points, good for 228 points.  Folk is a decent kicker, but he’s not automatic by any means.

The Jets have re-signed 32-year old OLB Bryan Thomas to a 1-year deal.  Thomas played in 4 games for the Jets last year and he had 14 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  Thomas has now played in 145 games in his first 10 years with the Jets and he has 418 tackles, 31 sacks, 36 tackles for a loss, 7 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries and 10 passes defensed.  It was smart of the Jets to bring back Thomas for the 2012 season as he has playing good before he got hurt last year.

The Jets have re-signed 33-year old NT Sione Pouha to a 3-year deal.  Pouha played in all 16 games for the Jets last year and he had 58 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed.  Pouha has now played in 94 games in his first 7 years with the Jets and he has 234 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 5 fumble recoveries and 9 passes defensed.  It was smart of the Jets to bring back Pouha as he is a rock in the middle of their defense.

The Jets have re-signed 24-year old WR Patrick Turner to a 1-year deal.  Turner played in 15 games for the Jets last year and he caught 8 passes for 96 yards (12.0 avg) with  1 TD grab.  He also had 6 tackles last year.  Turner has now played in 20 games in his first two years with the Jets and he has caught 10 passes for 122 yards (12.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also has 8 tackles in his career with the Jets.  This was a good move for the Jets as Turner helps out on special teams and he is improving as a receiver.

The New York Jets were really hit and miss in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Here is a look at how their rookies did in their first taste of the NFL:

22-year old DE Muhammad Wilkerson was the Jets’ first round pick in 2011.  He played in all 16 games for the Jets last year and he had 49 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  Wilkerson is likely going to be a starter for a long time for the New York Jets.

24-year old DT Kenrick Ellis was a 3rd round pick of the Jets last April.  He played in 5 games for the Jets last year and he had 7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Jets hope that Ellis improves in 2012.

23-year old RB Bilal Powell was picked in the 4th round by the Jets.  Powell played in 2 games for the Jets last year and he carried the ball 13 times for 21 yards (1.6 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 7 yards for the Jets.  He is buried on the depth chart right now.

23-year old WR Jeremy Kerley came to the Jets in the 5th round.  Kerley played in 14 games for the Jets last year and he caught 29 passes for 314 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 28 yards (5.6 ypc) and he completed his only pass attempt of the year and it was good for 41 yards.  Kerley wasn’t done there as he also helped out on special teams.  He returned 29 punts for 317 yards (10.9 avg) and 1 kickoff for 15 yards.

23-year old QB Greg McElroy came to the Jets in the 7th round.  He spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List due to surgery to repair his right thumb.  McElroy’s future with the Jets is up in the air after he sounded off about the locker room recently.

23-year old WR Scotty McKnight was also picked in the 7th round.  McKnight was cut before the season started.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

25-year old QB Mark Sanchez improved a little bit in 2011, but not as much as the Jets were hoping he would.  Sanchez led the Jets to an 8-8 record.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 308 of 543 passes (56.7%) for 3,474 yards with 26 TD passes and 18 INTs (78.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 37 times for 103 yards (2.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs last year.  Sanchez has now played in 47 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Jets and he has completed 782 of 1,414 (55.3%) for 9,209 yards with 55 TD passes and 51 INTs (73.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 103 times for 314 yards (3.0 ypc) with 12 TD runs in his NFL career.  Sanchez is 27-20 (57.4%) as the starting QB of the Jets during the regular season.

Even if the Jets wanted to bench Sanchez last year, they really couldn’t as 41-year old Mark Brunell was the backup QB.  Brunell played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 1 of 3 passes (33.3%) for 27 yards without a TD pass or INT (67.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for -12 yards (-3.0 ypc) last year for the Jets.  Brunell has now played in 193 games (151 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,761 of 4,640 passes (59.5%) for 32,072 yards with 184 TD passes and 108 INTs (84.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 513 times for 2,421 yards (4.7 ypc) with 15 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Brunell is 78-73 (51.7%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his NFL career.  The Jets will likely be looking for a upgrade over Brunell as Sanchez’ backup in 2012.