Why Marcus Gilchrist Has Everything to Prove in New York Jets Training Camp

In 2014, the New York Jets were plagued by a lack of free safeties and an abundance of strong safeties. They addressed those concerns by signing safety Marcus Gilchrist to a four-year, $22 million contract. 

That may seem like an exorbitant sum, especially when one considers that a majority of Gilchrist's safety experience is also at strong safety. A closer look at the details of the contract reveals that a $3.5 million guarantee makes this essentially a one-year deal. 

That's the ugly truth for players when it comes to free agency. Everything looks rosy the way it's reported, but the devil is in the details. Thus, Gilchrist is on the clock to prove in one season that he can play free safety, a position he's not suited to play.

The problem is he may not have an opportunity to prove much of anything—at least not right away—if he starts training camp on the physically unable to perform list. According to ESPN.com's Rich Cimini, that's a legitimate possibility. 

Head coach Todd Bowles sees things in Gilchrist that no one else truly sees.

"He's got very good cover skills," Bowles said at the NFL annual meeting, according to Dom Cosentino of NJ Advance Media. "He gives us a lot of versatility from a coverage standpoint. He has that ability to go out and cover and not be mismatched as often as we would be mismatched in a normal capacity."

Year	Pos	Tgt	Rec	Cth %	Yds	YPA	TD	INT	PD	Rate
2011	SCB	34	26	76.5	401	11.8	3	2	1	119.9
2012	SCB	55	46	83.6	465	8.5	4	0	2	126.1
2013	SS	43	32	74.4	308	7.2	3	2	3	97.8
2014	SS	57	39	68.4	425	7.5	5	1	1	112.1
Total	SCB/SS	189	143	75.7	1599	8.5	15	5	7	115.8

Gilchrist began his NFL career as a cornerback with the San Diego Chargers, but he's always been regarded as a versatile defensive back capable of playing safety. But in his four years in the NFL, he's never once allowed less than 68 percent completions into his coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. He spent the first two years at cornerback (primarily in the slot) and the last two years at strong safety. 

Part of the reason Gilchrist never got a chance at free safety was the presence of Eric Weddle, an eight-year veteran, three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. Perhaps a move to free safety is exactly what Gilchrist needs. Given his poor performance in coverage over the years, though, it's more likely to be the exact opposite of what he needs—or what the Jets need.

There will be a tremendous amount of pressure on Gilchrist in Bowles' defense. This defensive system is similar to former Jets head coach Rex Ryan's system in that it asks the free safety to roam the deep half of the field alone, keeping everything in front of him and quickly closing off any gaps in deep coverage.

One problem facing the Jets is the same problem mentioned at the top of this article: a lack of depth at free safety. You'd think that given all the resources they had at their disposal this offseason (north of $50 million in cap space at one point, and an abundance of draft picks), they would have at least added one true free safety to their depth chart.

The only real threat to that spot is Jaiquawn Jarrett. The four-year veteran started the final five games of the 2014 season at free safety and played a combined 391 snaps at the position in 2014. He allowed only six completions on 14 throws into his coverage last season, with only one touchdown against two interceptions and one pass broken up. 

It's also possible, in theory, that the Jets could ask third-year cornerback Dee Milliner to move to free safety.

There's been no indication that the Jets are even considering such a move, but his skill set would translate well, according to NFL.com:

• "Lines up receivers in the open field for the big hit."
• "Displays the hip fluidity to open up to stay with deep routes or drop into his zone."
• "Very fluid hips, changes directions easily and clicks his feels to drive on the ball in a flash." 
• "Straight-line speed [that] translates to closing speed when playing off his man or attacking plays in the backfield."

For now, it would be in the Jets' best interest to leave Milliner at cornerback unless there's an emergency. 

The fact that we're even discussing it as an option is an indication that the Jets' options at free safety are slim.

The decision to move Calvin Pryor back to the strong safety spot is the correct one. He was out of position for much of the beginning of the year, and began to hit stride when he settled back into a more natural position. 

That just means the pressure is on for Gilchrist to hold up his end of the bargain—although it's a much heavier end to hold up than Pryor's, who at least gets to play a natural position.

All eyes will be on Gilchrist to step up and deliver. If he fails to do so, the Jets could move on next year without suffering much in the way of a cap penalty; they could get back $4.375 million in cap space if they designate him a post-June 1 cut in 2016.

The only drawback would be that the Jets would go right back to the drawing board in their search for a free safety, and they will have wasted a year of their time that could have been better spent developing a player who actually fits at the position.

Unless otherwise noted, all salary-cap and contract information provided by Over The Cap.