Ed Mulholland-USA Today Sports
A few weeks removed from New York Jets running back Mike Goodson being arrested because of legal issues, and several weeks from “fringe” players Cliff Harris and Claude Davis being arrested on similar matters, general manager John Idzik is in the hot seat.
After Harris and Davis were arrested for possession of marijuana and a loaded handgun, Idzik hastily, and painlessly released them. Harris and Davis were free agent pickups over this offseason, but were not projected to be major pieces of the team by any stretch of the imagination, maybe not even on the team, so it was fairly easy for the Jets to part ways with the duo. However, cases like this don’t always involve the “scrubs” on the team.
Goodson, who was arrested a few weeks ago on similar charges, remains on the team, and is expected to practice today.
Because of the clear difference in punishments, Idzik has been taking a lot of heat, and you can make an argument that it is deserving. However, when you are a general manager who was brought in to try to reestablish this franchise and help them win games on the gridiron, Idzik is making the right decision.
Goodson will be a important piece of the running game for the Jets this season, as well as the short passing game. Harris and Davis were basically no-name signings, who were expected to be on the practice squad. Therefore, it would have been much tougher to get rid of Goodson than the other two because he is simply better and will help them win games much more than Harris or Davis ever would have.
Whether it’s unethical or not to punish the three differently for the same crime, that is another story, but Idzik is making the right decision based off of what he was brought in to do: win ball games.
