FLORHAM PARK — If the media circus around the New York Jets were crazy before, their latest signing will certainly add more fuel to the fire.
New York’s signing of defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey on Tuesday comes with plenty of off-the-field concerns, along with a possibility for a high reward if the former fourth-round pick sees the field.
Drafted out of Oklahoma in 2022, Winfrey was with the Browns for the 2022 season recording half a sack and 22 total tackles. On April 10, 2023, Winfrey was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge in Harris County, Texas. On July 19, 2023, Fox 8 Cleveland announced that Winfrey was under investigation by Cleveland police for allegedly pulling a gun on a woman and threatening her in Cleveland. He also missed a game for the Browns due to a disciplinary suspension.
Winfrey’s off-field concerns are well documented even with no indictment being made at this time. Despite the controversial problems that the signing could bring, the Jets believe there is a spot for him on the roster.
“Perrion’s not a bad person,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “Sometimes players make dumb mistakes. Sometimes they’re not good at life to start their football career, but it’s not because he’s a bad person. It’s just making silly immature decisions. So, a lot of the stuff that he’s been accused of has been wiped clean and where they’ve realized that it was all lies for him, but as far as the person, he’s a good man. He’s just got to figure out how to make better decisions.”
New York has plenty of veteran depth along the defensive line – the group Winfrey is expected to work with. Quinnen Williams, Quinton Jefferson, Carl Lawson, and even Jermaine Johnson are strong locker room presences that can help anyone get back on the straight and narrow path.
That’s exactly what Saleh and the Jets front office are hoping will happen.
“We do believe with our D line group and how strong that group is, the men that we have in that room that he’s going to find the right the right path,” Saleh added.
The NFL has not levied a potential suspension on Winfrey yet for the accusations and arrests over the last few years. While a suspension could certainly be on the table, the Jets are focused on what the pass rusher can bring to the organization for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Their hope, at least in the eyes of Saleh, is that the untapped potential he has will spark a change both on and off the field.
“He could lose what he loves if he doesn’t take care of the things that he needs to take care of off the field,” Saleh concluded. “He’s got a love for football that I think he realizes that he needs to protect a little bit better and we’re going to give him the opportunity to show that he wants to protect it while growing in a group that I think can maximize who he is and the type of player he can be.”
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