So close, yet so far.

The New York Jets missed out on free agent target Jadeveon Clowney on Wednesday, March 27 after he inked a deal with the Carolina Panthers.

Minutes later John Franklin-Myers took to social media to send out a strong message.

“People sleep on me gone wake up workin for me. I treat every day like the 1st and 15th,” JFM posted.

People sleep on me gone wake up workin for me. I treat every day like the 1st and 15th. https://t.co/ybcb8asqap

— John Franklin-Myers (@J_FranklinMyers) March 27, 2024

Franklin-Myers still has two years left on his $55 million contract through the 2025 season.

JFM Is Being Forgotten About in the Jets Pass Rushing Room
The green and white lost Bryce Huff this offseason on a monster three-year $51.1 million contract to the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.

“You never feel good about losing a guy that came here as an undrafted free agent. A real feel-good story. He developed into a really good pass rusher, ultimately you can’t keep everybody on the team. We felt like what we did this offseason was in the best interest of the Jets but my hat goes off to Bryce. He is a great player development story and he’s going to be successful in Philadelphia,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas told Jeane Coakley of SNY.

Joe Douglas catches up with @JeaneCoakley to discuss the Jets' free agent signings, how the Jets measure injury risk, not being able to re-sign Bryce Huff, the latest with Zach Wilson and the Jets' draft preparation https://t.co/UWuX0kJdDZ pic.twitter.com/uXplDePwrg

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) March 25, 2024

Despite losing Huff, the green and white have a handful of pass rushers in the stable ready to be unleashed. Most of the hype this offseason has been thrown at Jermaine Johnson and former first-rounder Will McDonald.

For whatever reason JFM has been a relative afterthought when discussing who could fill the void left by Huff.

Franklin-Myers, 27, joined the team in 2019 off of waivers from the Los Angeles Rams. JFM didn’t truly make his debut until 2020 but he quickly became a reliable force on the defense.

Over the last three seasons, the former Stephen F. Austin product has appeared in 50 out of 51 possible games. During his tenure with Gang Green, he has racked up 17.5 sacks, 61 quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and an interception.

Jets Aren’t Done Adding Talent to the Roster
Clowney is the second big-name pass rusher that the Jets have aggressively pursued this offseason.

Douglas said at the Annual League Meeting that he had an “outstanding” visit with Clowney. He sat with him in his office for over an hour to get to know him.

Before that pursuit, the Jets were hot and heavy after then free agent pass rush specialist Shaq Barrett according to well Shaq Barrett. Barrett told Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio that he was heading to the Jets until a last-second deal came together with the Miami Dolphins.

Shaq Barrett told @ZachGelb that he was heading to the #Jets this offseason ‘all the way’ until the #Dolphins swooped in last second.

To add insult to injury Barrett says another factor in his decision making was that he believes Miami is ‘more established’ & ‘more proven’ than… https://t.co/6SXUk7jJGG

— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) March 22, 2024

Barrett signed a one-year deal that has a maximum value of $9 million. Clowney signed a two-year deal with a maximum value of $24 million.

That is big-time money for some big-name players. If the Jets were after these types of players that indicates how important it is to add another pass rusher to the stable.

Clowney was truly the last big pass-rushing fish still out on the market. When you evaluate the rest of the names that are still available it leaves a lot to be desired. So either the Jets are going to sign one of these lower-tiered veterans or maybe get creative with a trade opportunity to fill the void.

Here are the top free-agent pass rushers still on the board for the #Jets to consider, per @spotrac:

🏈 Emmanuel Ogbah
🏈 Yannick Ngakoue
🏈 Randy Gregory
🏈 Jerry Hughes
🏈 Bud Dupree
🏈 Tyus Bowser

Yikes just not a lot out there. My favorite from this group is Ngakoue but boy…

— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) March 27, 2024