With Ellis signed, Jet GM looks to tackle rest of deals
BY PETER BOTTE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
The signing of Shaun Ellis to a six-year contract extension eliminates another big name from the deep list of potential free agents the Jets will have to deal with after this season.
But GM Terry Bradway will look to continue to retain the core of the team - including D-line standouts John Abraham and Jason Ferguson - after signing Ellis and Chad Pennington to long-term deals in the past few months.
"It's probably going to be impossible for us to keep everybody, but this was a big one for us," Bradway said of Ellis. "We have a chance to continue developing a championship-type defense here."
Ellis, who was one of the Jets' four first-round picks (with Abraham, Pennington and Anthony Becht) in 2000, got a six-year deal worth almost $7 million per season. His $15.5 million in signing bonuses ranks his guaranteed booty a shade below the Eagles' Jevon Kearse ($16 million bonus) and above Chicago's Adewale Ogunleye and Seattle's Grant Wistrom ($14 million) among defensive ends.
Ellis, one of the NFL's top defenders against both the pass and the run, has 4-1/2 sacks this season following a breakthrough 2003 campaign (12-1/2 sacks) that resulted in his first Pro Bowl appearance.
"My mind is free. I feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulders. I can breathe again knowing I'm going to be here," Ellis said. "I could've tested free agency, but I didn't. I felt like my home is here. I feel this is where I belong."
Ellis' early signing also gives the Jets some maneuverability for the offseason in their dealings with Ferguson and Abraham, who could be slapped with the "franchise" designation if a long-term agreement cannot be reached. Pennington was signed to a seven-year, $64 million contract in early September, but Becht, right tackle Kareem McKenzie and running back LaMont Jordan also will be unrestricted free agents after the season.