New York Jets: Who Could Be on the Trading Block This Offseason?

Saying the end of the New York Jets season was a disappointment—they finished 8-8 after dropping their last three games to the Eagles, Giants and Dolphins—would be a major understatement.

This season, not many players stood out as great performers, and there were a few that underperformed.

This list takes a quick look at some of the players currently on the New York Jets roster that may find themselves on the trade block before the 2012 preseason begins. They may possibly even find themselves on a different team by then.

Until then, all we can do is speculate.

As always, feedback is welcome. Enjoy!

1. Kenrick Ellis

After the 2011 NFL Draft, the Jets' defensive line was expected to be set in stone as one of those young up and coming strong defensive lines.  During the preseason, their third round pick they took a chance on, got hurt and missed plenty of playing time during the regular season.

Ellis is under contract until 2015, and the Jets may try to cut their losses and trade away the pick that has slowly started to look more and more like a bust.  Because they are the Jets and like to dip into the free agent market to help fill their roster, look to hear of them adding other defensive lineman and that could be a sure tell sign that they want to move Ellis after a very disappointing 2011 season.

2. Greg McElroy

This young quarterback has got a lot to learn about what he can and cannot say following a season where he only played in the preseason.  

Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy decided to be the first to talk about what happened with the Jets in their final week of the 2011 season. Unfortunately for him, his choice of words were not the best.

Following the Jets loss to the Dolphins, ending their season at 8-8, McElroy said, "It's the first time I've ever been around extremely selfish individuals. I think that's maybe the nature of the NFL, but there were people within our locker room that didn't care whether we won or lost as long as they [...] had really had good games individually.

"I think the fact we struggled at times this year," he continued, "really led to [...] this corrupt mindset within the locker room."

He later tried to save himself by adding, "But I think we're going to re-group. I think we'll be a better team because of the trials and tribulations this year."

Sorry, Greg, but that final piece may not have been enough to save you.

The fact of the matter is that McElroy is very expendable after suffering from a thumb injury that kept him out during the 2011 season. Right now, the best-case scenario for the Jets if they put McElroy on the trade block would be a sixth- or seventh-round selection, which could end up being a great pick by the Jets.

3. Mark Sanchez

Okay, so this one is a longshot, but it is possible.  

Since the end of the season in the beginning of January, the Jets have been one of the major names involved in the Peyton manning talks. A possible scenario could involve the Jets picking up Manning for a year (if he chooses to play in 2012), taking on his big contract and placing Sanchez on the block and testing the market.  

The Jets could get a decent draft pick if this scenario were to play out, and they would end up with a great quarterback for the 2012 season.

Mark Sanchez has had three years to prove himself. He has had great players around him and simply has not been able to get the job done. It should not come as a complete shock if the Jets trade away their former first-round draft pick.

4) Santonio Holmes

This one should not come as much of a surprise either as the fiasco at the end of the season is bringing into question whether quite a few players will be in green and white in 2012.  

In the Week 17 loss to the Dolphins, Holmes got into a heated argument with Wayne Hunter in the huddle.  This argument was captured by television cameras and members of the media.

Earlier this week the Jets decided to retain Holmes so they could avoid the $12 million cap change they would have suffered if they released him.

A month into the 2011 season, it was discovered that there was a problem in the locker room involving veteran receiver Derrick Mason.  There were reports that Mason was unhappy with the way offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was calling plays.  Because of this, the Jets shipped him off to Houston where he was at least on a team that advanced to the postseason.

Because of what happened with Mason and how the Jets considered him to be a cancerous player in the locker room; trading away Santonio Holmes could happen in the near future.