Barkevious Mingo is one of the top linebacker free agents available and it appears that the former Super Bowl champion is set to move on from the Indianapolis Colts.
A half-dozen teams have expressed heavy interest in Mingo with a source telling Metro New York that the New York Jets are among the teams interested. Per the source, the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New Orleans Saints, as well as the Colts, have all expressed “strong interest” in Mingo.
The source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the frontrunner right now to land Mingo appears to be the Seattle Seahawks.
A former first-round pick, Mingo is set to turn 28-years old this upcoming NFL season. He is coming off a year where he had a career-high 47 tackles and three forced fumbles. He also had two sacks this past year.
Mingo is a long, athletic outside linebacker with a good motor. For a team like the Jets, he might be an ideal fit in their 3-4 alignment as someone who gets in the backfield but also athletic enough to seal the edge.
The Jets already have had a busy offseason, adding cornerback Trumaine Johnson to their defense along with several prominent pieces on offense such as quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and running back Isaiah Crowell among others.
Coming into free agency sitting on $90 million in salary cap space, the Jets have eschewed going after some of the bigger names in free agency. Instead, general manager Mike Maccagnan has pursued several second-tier signings, appearing to prefer balance and salary cap viability instead of spending big on a couple of prominent players.
A player like Mingo seems to fit that bill.
He has good production and a big upside, someone who could definitely fit the outside linebacker role in head coach Todd Bowles 3-4 defense.
