On Monday New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum addressed the media.\u00a0 Here is the transcript courtesy of the Jets.<\/p>\n
On what he was looking for and what he expects from Plaxico Burress\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n We just think he can come in and help us at the receiver position (with) his size, playmaking ability and toughness. One of the things that\u2019s really impressive to us was the two teams he played for, Pittsburgh and the Giants, were two teams that brought him in immediately once free agency began. We\u2019re really excited that he\u2019s here, he\u2019s going to come in and help us in both the pass game and the run game.<\/p>\n On signing Burress without seeing him workout\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Obviously, in a traditional situation where you have a little bit more time, that\u2019s something we would have done. Free agency was obviously a pretty fluid situation and we felt comfortable for the player and the economics that was the appropriate thing to do.<\/p>\n On meeting with Burress a few years ago\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n We did. In May of 2009, Woody and I met with him when his player eligibility and legal status were uncertain. We sat down and had a great meeting with him for what I think was a couple of hours. Woody and I just walked away really impressed with him and I think that meeting was the foundation to leading to the signing.<\/p>\n On whether he\u2019s worried about Burress not having played in two seasons\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Obviously that\u2019s a work in progress. We have to see it, it\u2019s been two years and it\u2019s not going to be the same from day one. We know that, but we\u2019re excited about what we think he can do and we\u2019ll keep monitoring the situation. But with him, Santonio, Dustin, LaDainian, we really feel like in the passing game we can do a lot of great things. Will there be bumps in the road? I\u2019m sure, but we kind of factor that into the equation.<\/p>\n On not knowing whether Burress was in shape or not\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve talked to his agent and all, but you know today is August 1st and we still have a good month and a week to get ready to go and we\u2019ll see how that goes and we\u2019ll just monitor the receiver situation.<\/p>\n On how important it was to get Cromartie after Nnamdi Asomugha signed with Philadelphia\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n It was really important, but I think the foundation for (Cromartie) being here is just a tremendous win for our organization. He was clearly happy here. We were clearly happy with him. In free agency, things are fluid. Obviously we were talking to some other players, he was talking to some other teams. As I told him a few minutes ago, in free agency it\u2019s not where you start, it\u2019s where you finish and I\u2019m really happy he\u2019s back and I think we can build on what we started last year.<\/p>\n On if Cromartie was upset that the Jets explored other options first\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Not from my perspective, but I think that speaks on the foundation of a year of good will. We had a great year with him last year, not only on the field but off the field. He\u2019s a good person and a really good player, and I\u2019m really happy that he\u2019s here. But I think going into it there was a reservoir of good will that I feel carried the day. Because let\u2019s face it, free agency is a fluid situation, but I know he\u2019s happy and we\u2019re happy. From where I sit, what I feel good about is Rex came in here and there were three things he wanted- corners, corners, corners. We have three corners who were drafted in the first round that are under contract for at least the next three years and for me that\u2019s huge, because now we can go address other things on an ongoing basis but that is the foundation of our defense.<\/p>\n On if the hometown discount comment bugged him\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard a lot worse than that about me (laughing). If that\u2019s going to bother me, I\u2019m in the wrong business. Some of you may feel I\u2019m in the wrong business anyway, but it\u2019s not based on that (joking).<\/p>\n On if another veteran wide receiver might be added to the mix\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ll see. We\u2019re going to keep monitoring things. Obviously, our focus is going to turn to the field pretty quick here but I wouldn\u2019t rule that out.<\/p>\n On Braylon Edwards\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I had a great talk with Braylon on Saturday afternoon. Here\u2019s the bottom line on Braylon. He was with us for two years and we went to the championship game for two years and I put his tape up in the running game with anybody. What he did in the passing game speaks for itself. He was a great teammate and he did everything we asked and I couldn\u2019t be more proud of the trade that we made. I really think he changed our season in 2009. These are tough decisions and when we sign Santonio Holmes, that\u2019s not saying that we don\u2019t like Braylon Edwards, that\u2019s just saying that the economic and football decisions have to be prioritized at the end of the day. And those are tough, tough decisions but I told him privately and I\u2019ll say it publicly- I\u2019m proud that we traded for him. What we gave up wasn\u2019t insignificant and I think that paid off in spades and I think he\u2019s going to have a really good pro career and I\u2019m really proud to say that I got a chance to work with him for a couple years.<\/p>\n On if money was the sole factor for not re-signing Edwards<\/strong><\/p>\n I think it was a myriad of factors. I would say this, Santonio obviously was the priority. We felt that his skill set was dynamic, game-changing and a priority. And that\u2019s not saying Braylon doesn\u2019t do a lot of great things as well, but you just start with one and go from there. Like everybody else, we were in a lot of deals and out of a lot of deals. Some were very public, some weren\u2019t and that\u2019s what happens in free agency but typically you may go from one position to another. Obviously we talked to Todd Heap and got back with (Cromartie). Everything was so compressed, that it just happened really, really fast.<\/p>\n On what it was like making those financial decisions\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Challenging, but great stuff. I couldn\u2019t say enough good things about Scott Cohen, Ari Nissim, right on down the line, Brendan Prophett. The hours were long but we\u2019re coming out of it feeling really good about our team and feeling really good about our future. In a perfect world, I don\u2019t think we would have gone into this year with all of these contracts up at the same time but I think we got creative. I think we solved a lot of problems not only for this year but moving forward so I feel really good about the foundation moving forward. With that said, we\u2019re not done and if we have other opportunities, we\u2019ll explore them.<\/p>\n On being in the office and at the negotiating table for so many hours\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n It was tense at times, but I was challenging our people to come in with good ideas. Plaxico was on a plane and he lands in LA and we\u2019re humming. And that\u2019s just how it goes. You win some, you lose some but at the end of the day, I have Rex sitting right next to me saying, \u201cHow are we getting better?\u201d and you only have to hear that 13 or 14 times to get the message.<\/p>\n On Randy Moss and the possibility of him being a Jet\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Right now I think we\u2019re good at receiver from the standpoint that there\u2019s nothing imminent, but could we add another receiver at some point? I wouldn\u2019t rule it out, but Randy is a guy that has obviously done a lot of great things in his career as well.<\/p>\n On whether the Jets need Burress to play at a high level for the offense to be successful\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019d say, first of all, looking at that position group, we have Santonio now for hopefully the whole season all the way through, knock on wood staying healthy and all that, so I think that\u2019s going to be a big difference. Another year for Mark. It\u2019s hard to quantify Plaxico, is he going to be sixty percent? 100 percent? I\u2019m sure as the year goes on he\u2019ll get better. But we\u2019re really excited he\u2019s here. His skill set, his length, his toughness, his ball skills, that\u2019s going to help us. It\u2019s hard for me to say that he has to be 80 percent for it to be a good decision, I think it\u2019s the totality of all the moving parts we have. There will be other players that emerge as well.<\/p>\n On considering trades during the rest of the off-season\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Trades are always a possibility. Will any happen? I\u2019m not sure. I won\u2019t say which player in particular we would consider trading, but I think trades are always a way to improve your team if the right one comes along.<\/p>\n On rumors about trading Jerricho Cotchery\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t comment on a specific player, but I would expect more transactions between now and the Cowboys game.<\/p>\n On not getting Asomugha then transitioning to other decisions\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I guess we\u2019ll know at the end of the year (if that works out). But we feel really good about getting (Cromartie) back. It was really significant late last night. That was a really important transaction because it\u2019s the foundation of our defense. I think Nnamdi will do great with (Philadelphia), I think he\u2019s a great player, I think Philadelphia is a great organization, and he made his decision and it was a very fluid situation but coming out of this with Santonio, Antonio as well as getting Plaxico, I think that was good for us. Some other signings to us that were very important were getting Wayne Hunter back, getting Eric Smith back, getting Donald Strickland, who two years ago had beaten out Drew Coleman. I think Drew Coleman is a really good player. I think he\u2019s under the radar, I think that was a great signing by Jacksonville. Getting Nick Folk back, I think we accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. Rob Turner is very versatile, a guy that knows the game and does a lot of jobs for us.<\/p>\n Were there any awkward moments with Cromartie because of the pursuit of Asomugha\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think so because we had a good relationship there. The lines of communication were open and the fact that the same agent represented both players in my mind made it a little bit easier, not harder. It wasn\u2019t \u201cWe didn\u2019t want (Cromartie).\u201d It\u2019s my job to look into opportunities. Whether it\u2019s Plaxico Burress in May of 2009, or a player in free agency or Todd Heap, you\u2019re not going to get every player you talk to but I think that\u2019s my number one job responsibility. How can we make the Jets better? And if I\u2019m not talking to agents and players, then I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m holding up my end of the bargain.<\/p>\n On if there was a time when he thought they would not re-sign Cromartie\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Sure. Absolutely.<\/p>\n On if there was pressure to re-sign Cromartie because he was the next best available\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Well he was for us because we knew him and he played here. But there were other corners as well. There\u2019s no certainty, especially in this last week. It was a crazy week.<\/p>\n On the experience of the entire free agency period as a whole\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n About 25,000 calories. I got Rex going to Friendly\u2019s every night picking up Friendly Fribble after Friendly Fribble. He wants to know who we signed. You could just imagine what it\u2019s like with Rex every day. I\u2019ve been fortunate to be in the league for a while and I really feel like we\u2019re prepared and diligent. But it was nothing like I ever expected. I give a lot of credit to the agents as well because they\u2019re trying to sign 20, 30 guys as well. So it was multiple all-nighters but the net effect of it is that I really like our team and I like the fact that in March of 2012 you guys won\u2019t have to email me 14 times a day because hopefully we\u2019ll have a little less to do, you guys as well as me. I just feel like the foundation is there for a couple years now, and in a perfect world, we wouldn\u2019t have so many guys hit the market the way they did and retrospectively, I could have done a better job to plan for that. But with that said, I feel like we came through the week in a really good spot. You hate to see a guy like Brad Smith go. What a great guy he is, on the field and off the field. That\u2019s the tough part of the business, but there\u2019s a Brad Smith in that locker room. We\u2019re not sure who it\u2019s going to be, but we\u2019re going to have somebody emerge and that\u2019s the exciting thing about our sport, too.<\/p>\n On Shaun Ellis\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I talked to Shaun the other day, I had a great talk with him. He\u2019s a free-agent, he\u2019s assessing his options. He\u2019s the longest tenured Jet. That means a lot to me. We\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n On if he\u2019s made Ellis an offer\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019d just say that we\u2019re talking.<\/p>\n On if visiting Burress was unorthodox and if he thought he could sign him back in 2009\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n I do not think it was really unorthodox. He was a free agent that is a really good football player. There was uncertainty with his eligibility and his legal situation, but again, that is something that is my charge. We had a great meeting. (He is a) really interesting guy and I think that really helped lay the foundation since he had to make a decision quick, we had to make a decision quick and I really think that was an important part of the process.<\/p>\n On the phone call informing him that Asomugha would not be signing with the team\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n From a competitive standpoint, sure, you are competing for players, but it is on to the next thing. That\u2019s the mindset that you need to have, especially with the week that was going on. We had plan B the whole time. We were working relentlessly and diligently to make sure that if this plan works, we\u2019re good, if this plan works, we\u2019re good. So we are going to come out okay. We are not putting all of our eggs in one basket, and we\u2019re not going to be caught by surprise. So we were prepared to move on quickly.<\/p>\n On if he thought he definitely had Asomugha\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n No, I never think I have anybody. I\u2019m going to keep working until we get the signature.<\/p>\n On Damien Woody\u2019s retirement in the off-season\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n He is one of my all-time favorites. I had a really funny talk with him the other day. He is a great guy and he did a lot of good things. I wish him well and he played really well for us. Maybe his last game, that Colt playoff game was remarkable against Freeney and Mathis, on the road, on their carpet, with crowd noise. He played flawless that game and I think that is a great legacy for him. I think in his next career, he will do just as well.<\/p>\n On restructuring contracts and how he approached players\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t want to address that publicly, I think that\u2019s private. But I will say that we have created a great environment that players want to be here and I am really proud to be a part of that. I will just leave it at that.<\/p>\n On if Coach Ryan being able to wipe the slate clean with players\u2019 pasts makes his job easier\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I think it\u2019s still a calculation because we have a lot of great players and great people. Santonio Holmes is a great teammate. I challenge anyone in this room. Go watch the Houston Texans game in two weeks and when our defense is on the field, look at who is going to be standing next to Rex. Okay, he better do it now that I mentioned it (joking). He is a great teammate who loves football. Has Santonio had bumps on the road? Absolutely, but sometimes the perception of what it is and what they\u2019re like in our locker room is different. Sure, with Rex, he\u2019s a big thinker and has his own style and that\u2019s fun and interesting because we could look at any possibility. When you get to know these guys, be it Santonio or Antonio, Antonio is a great guy, he loves football. He\u2019s in this complex all the time. He really is a football junkie so I think it gives us the opportunity to get to know these guys and then to me, now you can build on that. If there is the right opportunity to extend both of these guys, it\u2019s good business for us.<\/p>\n