With Chris Johnson's departure a certainty and Percy Harvin likely gone, the offense is going to look very different for the New York Jets next season under new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.
A player the team is reportedly targeting in the NFL's free agency period in March and who has a history of success with Gailey is Buffalo Bills running back CJ Spiller.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that talk around the NFL continues to point to a marriage between Spiller, a pending free agent, and the Jets.
Under Gailey - who was the head coach of the Bills at the time and actually drafted the young running back in the first-round - Spiller enjoyed the most successful year of his career in 2012, amassing 1,244 yards and six touchdowns on the ground and 43 catches for 459 yards through the air.
Spiller is the type of versatile talent who could effectively take both Johnson and Harvin's spots - he can return kicks and is equally adept at catching the ball out of the backfield as he is as running it.
He had issues staying healthy this past season, but appeared in at least 14 games every other year of his five-year NFL career.
As for Harvin, the Jets made the unfortunate decision to trade for the enigmatic talent midseason, a player who provided all of 29 catches, 350 yards and one touchdown receiving and added another hundred on the ground.
"Percy is a versatile, dynamic player who has been productive on offense and special teams," former Jets general manager John Idzik said at the time of the acquisition, per ESPN. "We're excited about adding him to the Jets."
While the deal only cost the Jets a conditional pick, it's not hard to see why adding Harvin amounted to little in terms of wins or overall success for New York and thus why Idzik is no longer employed by the team.
Harvin, meanwhile, remains: though, likely not for long. His deal carries a cap hit of $10.5 million for next season. It's unlikely the Jets will pay that sum for a complementary player with mediocre production on a team with major holes to fill elsewhere.
Harvin, per La Canfora, isn't interested in restructuring his contract. Considering his deal carries no dead money penalty should the team cut him, it is likely that Harvin's stance will essentially be, "pay me or cut me," meaning he's probably not long for the Jets.
