One of the casualties of the New York Jets trimming their wage bill and creating a little bit of cap space for next season is Bart Scott, who used to be a Pro Bowl linebacker, but it’s been a while since he’s been that good. Still, he’s going to have shoppers for him around the league, including the Buffalo Bills, who might be the first to make an offer.
The Jets trimmed over $30 million from their salary for 2013 in order to go under the salary cap limit, and along with Scott, who has been with the Jets since 2009 after seven seasons of playing for the Baltimore Ravens, the Jets also released OT Jason Smith, OLB Calvin Pace, S Eric Smith and FB Josh Baker. Tim Tebow? Not a word, not now at least.
Mike Pettine is the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills after working with the Jets during the exact same period as Scott, and there’s a good chance that the connection might smooth things over for Scott to remain in the state of New York next season, even playing in the same division. The Bills were in the bottom third of the NFL last season in total defense, while Pettine was part of the Jets being ranked number one in the NFL in 2009. Last season the Jets, despite a bad season overall, were still one of the top 10 defenses in the league.
The Bills have more than a need just at linebacker, but Scott might be a good choice, and not a very expensive one considering he is entering his 12th NFL season on the back of a slow decline over the past few seasons, to solidify their front seven. Eric Smith is also being considered a safety the Bills might pickup, but they’ll deal with their George Wilson and Jairus Byrd situation first, before making moves for the fallout of the Jets cap-space cutting actions.