The Baltimore Sun is reporting that LB Bart Scott is getting closer to a deal with the Ravens before the start of free agency Thursday night at midnight. Here’s a link to that blog. Reporter Mike Preston speculates this means that Ray Lewis would be more likely to test the market and…. oh just connect the dots. Doesn’t take a genius to guess that his former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan might be making a call at 12:01 Friday morning.

Joe B mentioned that he’d like to see the Jets’ wide receiver needs addressed this free agency period. I’d just like to point out that David Clowney, who was underused by Eric Mangini last season, is still an exclusive rights free agent. Considering that agents for Eric Barton and Tony Richardson are dealing with the front office now, Clowney must be on the back burner.

Clowney hasn’t yet been contacted by the Jets, but could there be a spot for him in the reconfigured offense?

A lot happened while I was basking in the sun, eh?

First of all I’d just like to say that you read that the Jets were looking beyond G Brandon Moore here first — on Feb. 9. You all gave some good reasons why the Jets shouldn’t make the move, like the integrity of what was essentially a brand new line, but it looks like economics will trump that.

LB David Bowens, LB Brad Kassel and TE Chris Baker are now ex-Jets. Coach Rex Ryan still can’t talk about LB Ray Lewis although he is clearly making space for someone back there. LB Eric Barton’s agent is talking to the Jets this week.

Also unresolved is the kicking situation. The Jets still have Jay Feely and Mike Nugent who will know doubt want their situation resolved so they can try the market when free agency starts on Friday.

FB Tony Richardson is in negotiations, which backs up Ryan’s contention that he wants to run the ball more next season, and WR David Clowney is an exclusive rights guy yet to be resigned. The Jets reportedly secured special teams tackler Wallace Wright last week.

And let quarterback competition begin. Now that Brett Favre has flown the coop, the Jets seem to be giving their own table of QBs a chance, but all it takes is for a free agent to catch someone’s eye.

GM Mike Tannenbaum on Brett the Jet:

“His work ethic resonated with people for years to come, with Leon Washington and Thomas Jones,” Tannenbaum said. “I think the effects of Brett Favre will be felt on our program for a long time. Was he with us for a long time? No, but I think the effect he’ll have, the tangible effect he’ll have will last a long time.”

The other newsworthy item: Tannenbaum promised he wouldn’t use the word “process” any more. That is wonderful news. Now if we could just eliminate “all three phases” and “not a function,” and we’ll be back in the business of using phrases which aren’t just wind, but reflect actual human thought.

It’s a good thing Brett Favre retired Wednesday, because for the next week, I will be on a special kind of vacation, one where I am not allowed to blog or check my work email.

Don’t worry though, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the Jets and dutifully get blogging once I return and free agency gets hopping. In the meantine, I’m packing roller skates, sunscreen and my Jets media guide.

Bon Voyage!

Since his name had come up as a possible solution to the Jets new quarterback conundrum, and since several readers here have strongly opposed the possibility of Vick in green, I asked Jets coach Rex Ryan about him.

Even though the position search has just begun, would he exclude even the possibility of Vick due to his history?

Ryan said he hadn’t thought about it and didn’t have an answer.

Now, you can interpret that however you want, but he did not say that Vick was out of the question because of the dogs, the prison sentence or any other off-the-field issue.

The other point is that the Jets have had indications since before the season ended that they would likely be looking for a new QB, so to say Brett Favre’s retirement took them by surprise is unbelievable. GM Mike Tannenbaum is the kind of guy who has six contingency plans ready to go if his favorite take out place is closed for lunch, so you can bet he’s game-planned what’s happening at quarterback from free agency to some 8th-grader playing in Ohio.

Sounds like Vick isn’t automatically excluded from the scenarios.

Updated: Interesting how the timing works out on this one. Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff said today that the team would try to trade the contract rights to Vick. Since the QB is suspended by the NFL the Falcons haven’t discussed a trade with any other team yet,  “but we think some teams might be interested in exploring a trade.”

The Falcons have rookie of the year Matt Ryan in the position right now.

Of all the things to come out yesterday in the Brett Favre conference call, the acknowledgment that Jets management knew about the quarterback’s wounded throwing shoulder raised more issues than it clarified.

Although former coach Eric Mangini is now in Cleveland, these are the decision-makers who allowed Chad Pennington to play on an injured ankle in 2007. Clearly, the Jets have always been cagey with medical information on their players, but the injuries to both quarterbacks were, in retrospect, significant.

“Each week, just with wear and tear, it progressively (became worse) and I’m not a doctor, but I think, as the season progressed, it would tear just a little bit (more). I wouldn’t feel it tear, but it just got a little bit more fatigued,” said Favre, holding the shoulder in and AP photo from this season. “…I think I started kind of altering my throwing motion, and that was from the first game on, you know, I didn’t think about it much early in the season.

Yesterday on the conference calls Favre admitted it is the partial biceps tear which will keep him from coming back to the Jets, and that physically he wore down. He also said he had a cortisone shot in the shoulder on Dec. 7 after the loss in San Francisco, and that after the inadvertant underthrows in the loss to Seattle, he felt he just didn’t have it anymore.

“I had a brief conversation with (offensive coordinator) Brian Schottenheimer right after the game and with (general manager) Mike (Tannenbaum), and reiterated that to them that my shoulder (had been bothering me) and they knew my shoulder had been bothering me,” Favre said. ”I had an injection after the San Francisco game to try to relieve some of the inflammation.  They knew that it was affecting me to a certain point. That was probably the only time where I really had doubts after that game.”

It raises the question of whether the treatment he received while with the Jets was adequate, and whether they might have prolonged his time in New York — or allowed the Jets a better shot on the field — by sitting him for a few games. Since we got Favre after Tannenbaum yesterday, it’s a question that will have to be addressed at a later date.

Other stuff: Here is the story we had in The Journal News today. Go to that page to vote on who should be the next Jets QB—Michael Vick is leading right now. And the fabulous columnist Rick Carpiniello (my partner on the Rangers beat for the rest of the season) has a take on the Favre “retirement.” If you want to keep up with us, we are also keeping up the Rangers Report.

Even Kerry Rhodes was relieved that Brett Favre made his decision yesterday, before the start of free agency and this weekend’s NFL combine. The safety is one of many associated with the Jets who knows there is a lot of work to be done in finding the team’s next quarterback.

“It was actually good for us that he knows what he wants to do,” Rhodes said. “We are definitely built to win now.”

Rhodes who took some flack for saying that if Favre wanted to come back he should be part of the offseason training program, remembered one day late in the season when it was freezing cold in practice and Favre came over and playfully dumped snow down his jersey.

“Contrary to everyone’s beliefs, me and Brett were really tight,” Rhodes said.

Even if the interceptions bothered some pf his teammates, they liked having the 39-year-old quarterback in the lockerroom.

“He was always able to lighten the mood,” Jets fullback Tony Richardson said. “I think a lot of times people put a lot of pressure on themselves at a high level and I think Brett could get people to relax and remember why they loved playing football. I think that’s why America fell in love with Brett Favre, because they felt that childish enthusiasm he has.”

“It’s kind of sad,” Jets long snapper James Dearth said, “because he’s such a great player you hate to see him lose the game.”

Backup quarterback Kellen Clemens said he was personally saddened to hear that Favre had retired but that he ready to step in and start. There would be an open competition for the spot, Clemens said he was told by Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum.

“Jets fans and my teammates have not seen the best I have to offer yet,” Clemens said.

Tannenbaum said that the three quarterbacks the team currently has will remain on the roster including Brett Ratliff and Erik Ainge. Ratliff impressed Jets watchers during the 2008 preseason, but against the second and third stringers on opposing teams.

But given the expensive veterans acquired last year in free agency, Tannenbaum could pull in a more veteran option. Jeff Garcia could be relatively inexpensive compared to Kerry Collins and Kurt Warner, who led the Titans and Cardinals to the playoffs this year.

But do the Jets want another QB at the tail end of his career, or does it want this year’s Joe Flacco? The Jets have the No. 17 pick in the draw, which is likely too low to get Georgia’s Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez of USC. If the Jets don’t trade up for either of those, Kansas State’s Josh Freeman could be available.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN is reporting that Brett Favre has instructed his agent to tell the Jets he plans to retire. Favre has already said that if he goes, he will go quietly, without a press conference. Last year he had a heartfelt moment in front of the cameras only to unretire a few months later.

Check back for updates as I track down this story today…

The Jets have made it official and there will be a conference call with Mike Tannenbaum and Woody Johnson later. Let the speculation on a new quarterback begin as well. Mort reported that he told Tannenbaum during Super Bowl weekend that he was leaning toward retirement, so the GM should have started generating a backup plan.

One name thrown around is Michael Vick, which would be a total departure from the Jets “character” guys of the Eric Mangini era. Some other possibilities: Jeff Garcia, Kerry Collins and Kurt Warner.

Update 11:09: Tannenbaum and Johnson are scheduled for a conference call at noon. I’ll post news live off the call. Meanwhile, they issued a few statements.

“I had a great conversation with Brett this morning,” Johnson said in a statement. “Considering that he came from a totally different environment and joined our team during training camp, his performance last season was extraordinary. As I spoke with people throughout the organization, they all told me how much they enjoyed working with him. Brett Favre is a Hall-of-Fame player, but he is also a Hall-of-Fame person. Brett, Deanna and his family will always be a part of the Jets family.”

“When we acquired Brett, we knew we would get everything he had,” Tannenbaum said in a statement. “He took the time to mentor younger players and his competitiveness and enthusiasm at practice and during games was contagious. I spoke with him this morning and told him that he will be a friend of the Jets for years to come and it was an honor to work with him.”

And new Jets coach Rex Ryan: “It was an honor to coach against Brett over the years. If he’s not the best quarterback ever, then he’s certainly in the conversation. I have great admiration for him as a player and a person. I wish him only the best in his life after football.”

On the conference call: Mike Tannenbaum said he is moving forward planning the roster for the season on the news that Favre is retiring. … Johnson said that he is comfortable with the three quarterbacks they have, and Tannenbaum said those three would be on the roster. “We like what we have on our team,” Tannenbaum said. … Johnson said he thnks the decision was the right one. …Tannenbaum said Favre did not ask him to be released. … The Jets still own the rights to Favre if he decided he wanted to come back and play again.

The Jets released DB David Barrett today, after five seasons and 37 starts with the team. He recorded 247 tackles in that span.

The Jets are apparently doing their home work on right guards in the current market, which could mean that Brandon Moore’s position on the offensive line might not be secure going into next season. It’s early in the game, and free agency doesn’t even begin until the end of this month. Moore earned $1.6 million this year but has escalators in his contract that make him more expensive every year.

The Jets could hit on another guard through free agency, at the NFL combine next weekend or with an internal option like Wayne Hunter (currently a tackle), practice player Stanley Daniels or Rob Turner.

That said, offensive lines can sometimes take two years to really cement and the line this year was brand spanking new. With the quarterback situation looking murky (are you there, Oracle?) how much do the Jets want to tinker with the rest of the offense?

Update : Finally a QB coach, wonder how Brett Favre likes new quarterback coach Matt Cavanaugh? he was the offensive coordinator at Pitt for the last four seasons. Cavanaugh will be assisted by John DeFilippo. Former Army player Ben Kotwica stays as an assistant special teams coach and Brian Smith will be quality control for defense.

(I’ve always wondered what thay title meant, does he check the hits and then put an “Inspected by No. 4” sticker on ‘em?).