Jets to cut Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca (original) (raw)

By

Alan Faneca profile Jets tight fileJohn O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerAlan Faneca

The Jets will cut nine-time Pro Bowl left guard Alan Faneca, a person familiar with the situation said late tonight. The person requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the Jets’ or Faneca’s behalf.

The Jets will likely make a formal announcement Monday, according to the person.

Faneca, 33, was reported to be on the trading block for weeks, but the Jets couldn’t find any takers. He was scheduled to make 7.5millionthisseason,ofwhich7.5 million this season, of which 7.5millionthisseason,ofwhich5.25 million is guaranteed.

The Jets’ selection of Massachusetts offensive lineman Vladimir Ducasse

in the second round of tonight’s draft raised further speculation over Faneca’s future with the team. General manager Mike Tannenbaum sidestepped a question about Faneca’s status tonight after the Ducasse pick.

"Alan’s on our team. He’s done a lot of great things for us," Tannenbaum said. "All those other questions are hypotheticals. All I can tell you is where we are now.... I know there’s a lot of speculation, but that’s typically what happens over a weekend like that."

Faneca signed a five-year, $40 million deal with the Jets in 2008 after establishing himself as one of the league’s best run blockers during 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 13th-year pro struggled in pass protection last season.

Rumors of Faneca’s departure began to pick up steam tonight when Ducasse was selected with the 61st overall pick.

The 6-4, 332-pound Division 1-AA first-team All-American could slide to the interior of the offensive line in the future. The Jets need to replenish a line that paved the way for the league’s top-ranked rushing attack last season.

Tannenbaum said Ducasse will start out at left guard or right tackle. Although Ducasse is still rough around the edges, offensive line coach Bill Callahan endorsed the selection.

"With what he’s been through in his life, you’d never bet against him," Tannenbaum said. "He obviously has the physical attributes. From a technique standpoint, it’s not completely clean. We’re excited about his long-term prognosis with us. ... This guy had all the attributes we wanted."

Ducasse didn’t speak much English when he emigrated from his native Haiti five years ago with his brother. He played basketball, but didn’t get on the gridiron until he enrolled at Stamford (Conn.) High School.

"I’m still a student of the game," Ducasse said. "I’m still learning. The sky’s the limit."

Vice president of college scouting Joey Clinkscales maintained that Ducasse has a passion for the sport.

"He plays with an attitude," Clinkscales said. "I really do think he loves it.".

Ducasse may be raw — he initially struggled in pass protection at the Senior Bowl — but the Jets aren’t ruling out the possibility that he could be a starter sooner than later.

"I think he has the work ethic," Clinkscales said. "I think he’s tough enough. I think he’ll do everything in his power to be as good as he can be. Now whether that translates into a starter in Year One, we’ll see. ... He’ll compete with (Matt) Slauson and (Rob) Turner and those guys, and the best player will win. But we drafted him because his ability will allow him to compete as a starter."

Ducasse lettered in basketball, track and field and football in high school before choosing UMass over Maine, Northeastern, Hofstra, Delaware and Buffalo. Ducasse started 35 games as a starter at UMass, including 11 games at left tackle last season.

"What he’s been though in his life should make acclimation into the NFL somewhat plausible for him," Tannenbaum said. "We feel like his upside is really compelling."

NOTES

Tannenbaum on how the Jason Taylor signing

impacted the Jets’ first-round philosophy: "Jason allowed us to break a tie relative to a corner or pass rusher. Because of that, moving up wasn’t as big of a necessity. The corners kept falling.

(Devin) McCourty

was falling.

Kyle Wilson

was falling. We felt like something good was going to happen there."

Tannenbaum admitted that he examined possible trade opportunities in the first two days of the draft.

"We did look into a couple trades," he said after the second round. "If a player or two is specifically there (in the third round), we may to try to take a shot."

Manish Mehta may be reached at mmehta@starledger.com

For more Jets news, follow Manish Mehta on Twitter on http://Twitter.com/ManishMehta1

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.