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Mark Sanchez's contract extension has been dissected by experts and non-experts, praised and criticized, but the part most fans want to know is this: How does it affect the 2012 team?

Here's how: Sanchez's cap charge in '12 drops from $14.25 million to $7.85 million, a savings of $6.4 million, according to a source.

Obviously, that gives the Jets greater flexibility in free agency. Unofficially, it means they have more than $14 million in cap dollars to spend.

The next thing you want to know is this: Will they be players for DE/OLB Mario Williams, the best free agent not named Peyton Manning? The answer is no, the Jets haven't changed their position on Williams. But now they have the money to fill their other holes, namely safety, outside linebacker, wide receiver and backup quarterback. They also have the means to sign TE Dustin Keller to a long-term extension.

Other details, as reported by ProFootballTalk.com, on Sanchez's three-year, $40.5 million extension:

• His 2012 compensation will remain the same as the previous contract ($11.75 million), except now it's fully guaranteed and will be divided as follows: $8 million signing bonus; $3.25 million base; $500,000 workout bonus.

• His 2013 compensation went from a non-guaranteed $6 million to a guaranteed $8.25 million, bringing the total guarantee in the new contract to $20.5 million.

• The money in 2014-2016 is not guaranteed. We're talking about $11.5 million in '14 ($2 million roster bonus, $9 million base, $500,000 workout), $14 million in '15 ($1 million roster bonus, $12.5 million base, $500,000 workout) and $12.25 million in '16 ($1 million roster bonus, $10.75 million base, $500,000 workout). There's also $10 million in potential escalators.

Final analysis: Both sides are accepting risk. This isn't an outrageous, mortgaging-the-future contract, but if Sanchez flatlines or regresses in 2012, the Jets are basically stuck with him in 2013 -- and that may not bode well for Rex Ryan's job security. That is the risk the Jets are taking on.

If Sanchez develops into an elite quarterback, the Jets will have him locked up for four more years at a reasonable number. That is Sanchez's risk. Sanchez, perhaps sensing some uneasiness from the organization about his future, was willing to give them extra years (2014-16) for the security of that 2013 guarantee of $8.25 million. Clearly, he wasn't in the greatest bargaining position.

In my Friday night blog post, or rather the wee hours of Saturday, I questioned the extension because of the message it sends. Former Jet Damien Woody, an ESPN analyst, agreed with me, saying Saturday on 1050 ESPN New York that it's "rewarding mediocrity." The Jets themselves have said Sanchez didn't live up to expectations in 2011.

It also seems like the Jets are trying to rebuild Sanchez's image in his own locker room by throwing money at him, as if to show everyone he's not a lame duck. It was troubling to hear Sanchez say Friday night that the contract "gives the team just a reminder that I'm the leader of this team." Money doesn't buy leadership. Sanchez will have to prove it in the locker room and on the field.

Friday's bombshell story about the Saints' "bounty" program triggered a thought about the Jets-Saints game in 2009. After all, that was the first year the Saints started paying players for deliberately trying to injure opponents, according to the NFL's findings.

After checking through notes and reviewing the official play-by-play of the game, no suspicious hits jumped out. If the Saints tried to take Mark Sanchez out of the game, they failed.

Saints DBs Tracy Porter and Darren Sharper committed personal-foul penalties, but there wasn't any indication of malice. Jets OT Damien Woody suffered an ankle injury early in the game and was forced to leave in the third quarter, but I checked with Woody Friday and he didn't recall any cheap shots.

According to the NFL, payments were made for plays such as interceptions and fumble recoveries. In that case, the bounty hunters made a killing against the Jets. Sanchez was intercepted three times (one returned for a touchdown) and he also lost a fumble that was recovered for a touchdown.

The Saints' program also included "bounty" payments for "cart-offs," meaning that the opposing player was carried off the field, and "knockouts," meaning that the opposing player was not able to return.
It paid players $1,500 for a "knockout" and $1,000 for a "cart-off," with payouts doubling or tripling during the playoffs.

This is serious stuff. Look for the Saints, including former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, to get hit with major sanctions.

The Jets aren’t doing any talking, so one of their ex-players did it for them.

Former Jet and current ESPN NFL analyst Damien Woody blasted Bill Belichick’s Patriots, their porous defense and even worse personnel decisions.

“It’s about what have you done for me lately,” Woody said Friday on ESPN New York 1050’s “The Michael Kay Show.” “And if I’m in the Jets locker room, I’m like this: I could care less what [the Patriots] did in the early 2000s. Those teams are nothing like the team on tape right now. What you see on film is one of the worst defenses in the National Football League.”

The Patriots’ defense is currently ranked last in the league against the pass.

“That has to give you confidence that you can go out there and dominate those guys,” Woody said.

Woody said the reason the Patriots’ defense has been so abysmal is because they’re “playing scraps from other teams,” especially in the secondary.

He said the Patriots are clearly missing defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who they traded to Oakland in 2009 for a pair of draft picks -- including a first-rounder.

“You can’t sit here and tell me the Patriots aren’t missing a guy like that,” Woody said. “He makes all the difference.”

Woody wonders if Belichick is missing former player personnel executive Scott Pioli, who left New England to become the GM in Kansas City.

Woody called Sunday night’s matchup between the two rivals a must-win for the Jets given their aspirations of winning the AFC East and getting a couple home playoff games.

“They already lost up in New England, they need to get this one; they need a split with New England,” Woody said.

Damien Woody was given a chance to rip Matt Slauson.

He didn’t.

“What’s the point?” Woody said. “The bottom line is he’s uplifting his teammates. I have no problem with that. I’m not in the lockeroom anymore,” Woody said on ESPN New York 1050’s “The Michael Kay Show” Friday.

Slauson made headlines earlier in the week when he called starting right tackle Wayne Hunter an “upgrade” over Woody, now an ESPN NFL analyst. Woody, who started at right tackle for the Jets from 2008-10, had been critical of his former team, saying they lost their identity as a Ground & Pound football team.

“I watch a lot of things on the NFL Network and ESPN, and they're all saying, ‘Well, the Jets aren't running the ball because they're not the same team. They don't have those guys that can grind on you, play after play,’” Slauson said. “That just isn't true. We have the guys. Our offensive line is the same, except we have Wayne and, in our opinion, that's an upgrade.”

Slauson added, “I like Damien. He's a really good player. He'd had a hell of a career, but Wayne is an incredible athlete. As long as we continue to work and learn and execute, our line is going to be better in the coming games and the coming years.”

Woody said Hunter has been better in recent weeks after getting off to a horrific start.

“I just think he’s playing up to his athletic ability,” Woody said. “He’s out there, he’s always been an athletic guy, and now he’s putting it all together. He has confidence and it’s showing on the field.”

Despite the recent animosity between he and his former teammates, Woody said he remains a Jets supporter.

“At the end of the day, I’m one of their biggest fans,” Woody said. “And look, the things [Matt] said, that’s his opinion. I’m not gonna knock a man for his opinion. The things I’ve accomplished speak for themselves.”

As for Christmas Card-gate -- Slauson said Woody never sent him one -- Woody said, “Look send me your address, and I’ll get you one of the Woody Christmas Cards this year.”

At the start of the season, the big question on the offensive line was whether career backup Wayne Hunter would be able to replace the popular Damien Woody, the starting right tackle from 2008 to 2010. After seven games, one player -- LG Matt Slauson -- is convinced that Hunter is better than Woody.

"I watch a lot of things on the NFL Network and ESPN, and they're all saying, 'Well, the Jets aren't running the ball because they're not the same team. They don't have those guys that can grind on you, play after play,'" Slauson said Monday. "That just isn't true. We have the guys. Our offensive line is the same, except we have Wayne and, in our opinion, that's an upgrade."

Told that he probably wouldn't receive a Christmas card from Woody, who retired before the season to become an ESPN studio analyst, Slauson replied, "I never did, so ..."

Slauson added, "I like Damien. He's a really good player. He'd had a hell of a career, but Wayne is an incredible athlete. As long as we continue to work and learn and execute, our line is going to be better in the coming games and the coming years."

Woody, in his new gig, has been critical of the Jets, saying recently they had lost their mentality as a Ground-and-Pound offense.

Hunter got off to a shaky start, but he has settled down in recent weeks. Unofficially, he has allowed a team-high three sacks and he leads the offense in penalties (four for 35 yards).

Super Bowl?! Super Bowl?!

According to ex-Jet Damien Woody, the Super Bowl should be the last thing on his former team’s mind.

“Let's not talk about Super Bowl anymore,” Woody, now an ESPN analyst, said Friday on ESPN 1050’s “The Michael Kay Show.” “Let's just take it one game at a time. If I had one message, just take it one game at a time. Like putting one foot in front of the other. Let's put one foot in front of the other, get some wins together and then, once the playoffs come around, then you can start talking Super Bowl. But right now, let's not put the cart before the horse.”

Woody’s former coach, Rex Ryan, has continually guaranteed that the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl. But the Jets came up a game shy of playing for the title the last two seasons, and have sputtered out to a 3-3 record through the first six weeks of the 2011 campaign.

Still, Woody has been impressed with his former coach’s championship or bust mentality.

“That’s high expectations and rightfully so, because you should be playing for a championship every year. And that’s the one thing I can say about Rex: he’s brought that mentality. He’s brought it to the fans,” Woody said. “The fans expect championship or bust every year, and they should expect that. And the team should expect that. The players in the locker room should expect that. Now it’s up to the players to go out there and get it done, because this is what you signed up for. You signed up to win a championship. The coach is talking, and it’s up to the players to back it up.”

Woody’s former teammate Kris Jenkins, made some highly critical comments of the Jets on Wednesday, calling their locker room “catty” and saying the reason why is because they cut all their leadership before the start of the season.

“I think what it really is is the team isn’t playing as well as they should be,” Woody said. “There’s always going to be change in the NFL, but the bottom line is they need to play better on gameday.”

Damien Woody knows the inner workings of the Jets better than most. After all, he played right tackle for them for three years. These days, he's an analyst for ESPN, paid for his opinions. On Wednesday, he was on a conference call with reporters to discuss the Jets and, although he didn't unload on his old team, a la Joe Namath, he provided opinion and insight on what's going wrong.

Here's a sampling, per The Star-Ledger of Newark:

• On whether they can rebound: "Do I think it will get turned around? I don’t know. I really don’t know. It's early in the season; we’re only at the quarter point. But right now, the early returns don’t look good on how they are performing.

"Right now, I’m just going off what I see, and what I see is a team that can't run the football, they can't protect the passer; a quarterback that is struggling, he's completed 55 percent of his balls, he's committed a lot of turnovers. Now, can they turn it around? Look it’s the quarter point of the season, there's a lot of season left -- yeah, they could turn it around. But I'm just saying, what I've seen so far at this point, it’s going to be tough."

• On Rex Ryan's declaration to the team that it's reverting to its run-oriented style: "The thing I have a problem with is Rex says, 'We’re going to go back to ground and pound; we are going to run the ball.' But that’s something you have to do from Day 1. You can't just flip the switch and just say, 'Oh, we are going to be a rushing team now.' That’s something you have to do from the beginning; that’s your identity, The run game is so hard, it’s almost impossible to just flip the switch and just be a run team, it really is."

• On how the new CBA, with less padded practices, is hurting the team: "I think the new rules hurt the Jets really bad. In order to go back and try to be this ground-and-pound team, you have to practice that, you're going to have to practice that in pads ... It's hard to really establish that physicality (without pads). I think you see it on both sides. You see the slip in the run defense. I think the practice rule has really hurt the Jets as a whole."

• On his replacement, Wayne Hunter: "This is Wayne's first year being 'The guy.' My hope with the situation is that as the season progresses, he's going to get better. Right now, he's run into some bumps in the road. It's hard in the National Football League, it's hard to be the guy and go out there and play at a high level every game. I'm sure (offensive line) coach (Bill) Callahan and Rex understand the challenges that lie ahead, are going to put the necessary work in."

Thoughts and observations as we finally hit the first Sunday in the NFL:

• Can anyone imagine what it would be like if the lockout still was ongoing? I can't. There's no way the owners and players would've were going to allow their stadiums sit empty, especially on 9-11. The public-relations backlash might have caused irreparable harm.

• I don't think the Jets got worked up at all by Plaxico Burress' comments to "Men's Journal." After all, he made them before he was a Jets employee and most of the criticisms were directed at the Giants, which, of course, the Jets don't mind. But the article does open a window into Burress' post-prison mindset, which could impact the Jets if he decides to speak out again. Burress doesn't appear contrite or humbled, especially with his LeBron James-like remarks. It makes you wonder if the old diva will re-surface if things don't go his way on the field.

• Shonn Greene generated little fanfare during the run-up to Sunday night's opener against the Cowboys, and yet -- other than Mark Sanchez -- I believe he's the key to the Jets' season. If Greene and Sanchez have good years, the Jets could be in the Super Bowl.

• The average age for the Jets' offensive starters is 27.27 years, down from last season's opening-day lineup (28.27). The average age on defense is 28.0, pretty much the same as last year (28.2). The average dropped because they dumped older players such as Shaun Ellis and Damien Woody, and moved LaDainian Tomlinson out of the lineup.

• I think the Jets made a mistake by not acquiring a veteran backup on the offensive line. GM Mike Tannenbaum had more than enough cap room, yet decided to bring in a couple of minimum-salaried rookies, Caleb Schlauderaff and Colin Baxter. They must think Rob Turner is only a few weeks away from returning. Even so, it's a gamble.

• Battle lines are drawn in the McElroy household. Greg is a rookie quarterback on the Jets (on injured reserve) and his father, Greg, is the Cowboys' senior vice president of sales and marketing. I spoke to McElroy before his season-ending thumb injury, and this is what he said about the matchup: "My dad, I don't know where his loyalties will lie. I think he'll be pulling for me individually, but he also has to consider who pays the bills." His dad was expected to attend the game.

• Former Jets QB Chad Pennington told PFT Live that he has a "sneaking suspicion" that the retired Randy Moss, his old college teammate at Marshall, will return to playing. Prediction: If the Jets lose a receiver, and Moss still is available, they'll be trying to coax him out of retirement.

• My fearless season predictions (division champs): AFC East -- Patriots, AFC North -- Steelers, AFC South --Texans, AFC West -- Chargers. Wild cards -- Jets, Ravens. NFC East -- Eagles, NFC North -- Packers, NFC South -- Saints, NFC West -- Rams. Wild cards -- Falcons, Cowboys. Super Bowl -- Packers over Patriots.

• Enjoy the football Sunday, but please don't forget the true meaning of the day.

A REMINDER FROM THE JETS: As part of a special halftime tribute, the stadium will transition into concert mode and the stadium lights will be turned off for the duration of halftime. The team asks that fans remain in their seats for this emotional tribute.

Rainy day thoughts and observations:

• I find Rex Ryan's choice of captains to be particularly interesting, a reflection of the direction of the team. Instead of picking older players like LaDainian Tomlinson, Bart Scott, Brandon Moore or Jim Leonhard -- all deserving -- Ryan opted for the "younger" crowd. He chose Mark Sanchez, Santonio Holmes, Darrelle Revis, Sione Pouha and Eric Smith.

The exception might be Pouha, 32, but he's regarded as an emerging leader, the most vocal player on a defensive line that has undergone a youth movement. The point is, Ryan seems intent on putting his younger stars in leadership roles. Makes sense, considering some of their older leaders no longer are with the team --Damien Woody, Shaun Ellis, Tony Richardson, et al. It's changing-of-the-guard time.

• I wonder who the players would've voted for as captains if Ryan had opted for a democratic process. Just saying.

• Best player in camp so far: Revis. Hardly a shocker, right? Think back to a year ago. Right about now, he was two weeks into a nasty holdout, trying to stay in shape by working out on his own. He signed the week of the opener, pulled a hamstring and needed more than half the season before he was right. If the Jets get the real Revis from Day 1, it'll make their defense that much better.

• Revis' performance in 2009 was considered by some to be one of the great years for a cornerback in recent history. Asked if it was a once-in-a-lifetime season that can't be duplicated, Revis replied, "No, it wasn't ... I don't know if you can sit here and say 'duplicate, but if you noticed last year, I came back and finished the season strong. The guys I did cover, they didn't have the numbers they usually average per game. If you look at those stats, you would know."

• Final thoughts on Shaun Ellis going to the Patriots: The Patriots offered four times as much money as the Jets. Who can blame a guy for taking that deal? At the same time, you have to wonder about Bill Belichick's decision to pay $4 million to a 34-year-old defensive end with an ailing hip. In the 11 games prior to his monster playoff game against the Patriots, Ellis had only one sack and no more than four tackles in any one game.

• Tomlinson rushed 22 times last preseason. Something tells me it's going to be a lot less this summer.

Going into the offseason, the Jets determined they could afford to pay big money to only one of their starting wideouts, Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes. Obviously, they chose Holmes -- and it wasn't a difficult call at all. On Friday, Holmes was asked why he believes he was the top priority.

"Tone Time! Tone Time!" he explained. "When you show up on Sundays, I'm pretty sure that's all that matters."

Holmes landed a five-year, $50 million contact, including $25 million in guarantees. Edwards? He ended up signing with the 49ers for one year, $3.5 million -- only $1 million guaranteed. His off-the-field troubles, no doubt, contributed to the lack of interest.

PACE READY: OLB Calvin Pace, speaking to reporters for the first time in camp, said his surgically repaired foot is 100 percent. He broke his foot last preseason, needed surgery and missed the first four games. He said it took him until Week Nine or 10 before he was feeling good. He said the artificial turf at the New Meadowlands Stadium "isn't the softest place in the world" and slowed his recovery.

NICE GUYS GET CUT: In 2005, the writers that cover the Jets started an annual "Good Guy" award for the most media-friendly player. The winners: Pete Kendall (twice), Laveranues Coles, Damien Woody, Darrelle Revis and Jerricho Cotchery.

Kendall, Coles and Cotchery ended up getting dumped because of disagreements with management, and Woody was released and later retired. The "Good Guy" jinx? If something happens to Revis, the jinx talk will be validated.

Former Jets RT Damien Woody will make it official Friday, announcing his retirement from the NFL, a source confirmed. Woody will hold a news conference at the Jets' training facility in Florham Park, N.J.

Woody had been mulling retirement since the end of last season, and his plans crystallized last week when the Jets re-signed Wayne Hunter to play right tackle. That ended weeks of speculation about a possible return by Woody, who was released in February.

Woody, who turns 34 in November, played 12 seasons for three different teams -- the Patriots, Lions and Jets. He signed with the Jets in 2008 and started for three years, finally succumbing to knee and Achilles' injuries late last season. He blew out his Achilles' tendon late in the Jets' playoff win over the Colts.

He won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots.

Woody's retirement announcement was first reported by Newsday.

Ready, set ... wait?

The Jets, like every team in the league, have been looking forward to Thursday, the day that players with new contracts are permitted to practice. The reason why they have to wait is because the new CBA still needs to be ratified. It's supposed to be wrapped up by Thursday, but now there's talk that it might not be done in time.

If not, you're going to have a lot of ticked off coaches. Rex Ryan was asked about it Wednesday, and he did a good job of masking his feelings.

"We'll adjust as always," Ryan said, commenting on a possible delay. "We're ready for anything. It would be unfortunate, but if it doesn't happen, we'll make the appropriate adjustments."

These first few days of camp have been, well, a joke. S Eric Smith, who can't practice because he has a new contract, said he's been "miserable" the last three days, watching. There's a lot of that going around. LB Bart Scott joked that he still feels locked out.

SORRY, VLAD: There is no open competition at right tackle, Damien Woody's old position. Ryan made that perfectly clear, saying the job belongs to veteran Wayne Hunter. It means that Vladimir Ducasse, their second-round pick in 2010, will start the season on the bench.

When the Jets decided to cut Woody in February, they moved Ducasse to right tackle, thinking he could learn the position (he was a left guard last season, a left tackle in college). Then came the lockout, which probably hurt Ducasse more than any player on the team. Because players were barred from team facilities, Ducasse missed valuable classroom and conditioning time.

The Jets had to buy some veteran insurance, which explains why they re-upped with Hunter for $13 million over four years. So if you're scoring at home on Ducasse, his line looks like this: Two years, two new positions, two failed bids for starting jobs.

RELAX, COACH: Ryan can rest easy, knowing his "Mike" linebacker -- David Harris -- is sticking around for at least the next four years. On Tuesday, Harris signed a four-year, $36 million contract.

"I think he's one of the top linebackers in football, there's absolutely no question," Ryan said. "Let's face it, if we don't give him this contract, there's a million teams lined up to do the same thing."

THIS AND THAT: OLB Calvin Pace (surgically repaired foot) was only 20 percent healthy by the end of last season, according to Ryan, who believes a healthy Pace has double-digit sack potential ... Because they're counting on him to start at safety, the Jets will pare down Eric Smith's responsilbilities on special teams. He won't be used on the kickoff-return unit. Smith is one of the top special teamers on the Jets ... Speaking of special teams, it sounds like the Jets are trying hard to re-sign free agent James Ihedigbo. Ryan called Digs a "spectacular" performer on specials ... On Tuesday, rookie NT Kenrick Ellis made a mental mistake. On Wednesday, he appeared at the morning walk-through wearing a quarterback-style wristband with his plays.

The Jets don't have a deal with Nnamdi Asomugha -- yet -- but there's already talk of how a monster contract might impact the future of Darrelle Revis. As you know, Revis staged a bitter holdout last summer, eventually signing a four-year, $46 million contract (basically, a one-year extension) with the idea that the two sides would re-visit it at a later date and try to hammer out a true long-term deal.

On a conference call Wednesday with reporters, Revis was asked how he'd react if Asomugha, whom he considers a friend, got more money than him.

"Money is not the issue here," Revis said. "The issue with us is to be a championship-caliber team. I'm not angry at what anybody gets. That’s their situation. If you perform on the field, you get what you deserve. Nnamdi deserves to get top dollars, which he has been doing. My thing is, I hope we get him."

During the early stages of last year's contract dispute, Revis said he wanted more than Asomugha, who was earning $16 million a year at the time. As it turns out, Revis' average salary for 2010 and 2011 will end up being $16 million.

Revis' current cap figure is $11.3 million. He said the front office hasn't approached him about restructuring his deal to create cap room for free agents. Asked if he'd agree to restructure, as Mark Sanchez offered to do, Revis said it was a "private" matter and that he'd let his agents handle it.

Truth is, Revis is unlikely to re-work his deal. Why not? There's still some fuzziness with the new CBA rules and, secondly, he doesn't want to get boxed into a deal that would hinder his ability to seek a new deal after the 2011 season. And, make no mistake, he will. Would he stage another holdout? That would be tough because there are penalties in his current deal if he does.

Money matters aside, Revis was asked about his favorite "slouch" ... er, Randy Moss, whom the Jets could be targeting. Revis and Moss have a history, remember.

"I don’t think we’d get along ... No, I'm just playing," Revis said. "You respect a guy like that. Words are words. Me and him both know, stick and stones will break our bones, but words can never hurt you ... I'd love to have him. You can see on film the guy can still play. He can catch the ball and be a deep-threat guy."

* * *

The Jets also made Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum available to reporters. Citing league rules, they refused to comment on any players (i.e. Holmes and Asomugha) not under contract. Tannenbaum was at his tap-dancing best, dodging all questions related to free agency.

The only news to come out of it was Ryan announcing that Sanchez will be a permament captain for the 2011 season because he's "truly and captain. It's his team."

Tannenbaum confirmed the obvious, saying that (former Jet) Damien Woody "will not be our right tackle this season." Reports say Woody has decided to retire. Wayne Hunter, whom they will re-sign for four years, is expected to be the new starter.

The anticipated first-day frenzy never materialized -- at least not for the Jets. Mostly, there was a lot of hot air, rumors and posturing. Let's recap:

• As of late Tuesday night, the Jets still were negotiating with WR Santonio Holmes, according to a source. From all indications, they have a very good chance of retaining their top free agent.

• As expected, the Jets checked in with CB Nnamdi Asomugha, the crown jewel of the free-agent class. Things are moving slowly with Asomugha, who has many suitors.

• The Jets agreed to a four-year contract with RT Wayne Hunter, who ended last season as the starter. This came as a surprise, with so much speculation surrounding a possible return by Damien Woody, who had the job before injuries last season. Woody has retired, according to the New York Daily News. Woody didn't return messages, but a person close to the lineman told us he believes Woody has decided to hang 'em up.

• Free agent WR Brad Smith, in a radio interview, said he has heard from several teams, including the Jets.

• All quiet with WR Braylon Edwards, who will jump to the head of the free-agent class once Holmes and Sidney Rice (Vikings) are signed.

• S Eric Smith, a part-time starter, was contacted by the Jets. They want him back, but nothing is imminent.

• Various reports linked the Jets to LB Antwan Barnes (Chargers) and CB Draylon Florence (Bills). Barnes is strictly a backup type. Florence is a step down from Antonio Cromartie, but a serviceable starter. Looks like the Jets are shopping the high-rent district (Asomugha) and the middle-class neighborhood for a potential Cromartie replacement.

Four-plus hours into free agency, and still no "major" deals. But here's a Jets update:

• Former Jets RT Damien Woody, cut by the team before the lockout, is drawing significant interest from the Jets, according to a source. Makes sense because, as of now, untested second-year OLM Vlad Ducasse is pencilled in to start at right tackle. Don't expect an immediate outcome here; it may take a few days.

Speaking Monday night on 1050 ESPN New York Radio, Woody made his preferences clear, saying, "It's Gang Green or nothing." At 33, he could opt for retirement. On the radio, he said his surgically repaired Achilles' tendon is doing just fine. If the Jets fail to re-sign Woody, they could turn to free agent Wayne Hunter, who did a respectable job late last season as Woody's replacement.

• Interesting tweet Tuesday from Redskins CB Phillip Buchanon, who said, "Redskins or Jets?" Does that mean the Jets are showing interest in the 30-year-old corner? If so, it means the Jets are lining up potential replacements in the event they lose Antonio Cromartie. Buchanon has played for five different teams, but he began his career with the Raiders, who were coached by Bill Callahan, now the Jets' assistant head coach/offensive line coach.

• As expected, Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith are drawing interest from numerous teams. Hearing that the Redskins -- no shock -- already are on to Holmes and Edwards. Smith has been contacted by numerous teams, according to a source.

• The Jets' rookie cap, per ESPN's John Clayton, is $3.4 million. They have to squeeze six draft choices under that amount.

• The Jets haven't announced any undrafted-free agent signings, but various reports say they have finalized deals with TE Josh Baker (Northwest Missouri State), SS Davon Morgan (Virginia Tech), OL Chris Stewart (Notre Dame), CB Julian Posey (Ohio), G Zane Taylor (Utah), WR Courtney Smith (South Alabama), LB Nick Bellore (Central Michigan) and TE Collin Franklin (Iowa State).

Again, these deals are unofficial.