Jets have the cap space to spend big in free agency, but don’t be surprised if they take a different approach

INDIANAPOLIS – There are only a handful of NFL teams with more salary cap space than the Jets, and they still have room to make some cuts that would clear $10 million more. They are poised to be one of the most active and biggest spending teams when the free-agent market opens in two weeks.

That just might not be the approach they take.

Though Jets GM Joe Douglas didn’t lay out his exact plans on Wednesday when he spoke at the NFL scouting combine, he certainly did seem to pump the brakes on everyone’s expectations for how they’ll use their $50-60 million in salary cap space. He talked about free agency as just one of “a lot of different tools to improve your roster,” and he expressed his long-stated desire to maintain the Jets’ future financial flexibility.

And when discussing how a team could use free agency to help itself suddenly become a contender, he pointed to the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, who were hardly among the biggest spenders last year.

“I think Cincy did great in free agency last year,” Douglas said. “They didn’t blow the doors off in terms of signing super high-priced guys. They brought in guys who fit exactly what they wanted to do.”

In other words, the Bengals were targeted in their spending. They didn’t simply go after the biggest names or top players on the market. They spent good money on players like defensive end Trey Hendrickson (four years, $60 million), cornerback Chidobe Awuzie (three years, $21.75 million) and cornerback Mike Hilton (four years, $24 million), and surrounded them with lesser free agents on much smaller deals.

Notably, none of their Big 3 free agents are among the 15 highest-paid players at their position. All of them started for the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

That is very similar to the play Douglas employed last year when he mostly shunned the top tier of the free agent market. He spent decent money on defensive end Carl Lawson (three…