"Two months ago, the Jets talked about Derrick Mason catching 100 passes and being like a third starting wide receiver.

Yesterday, they tried to explain why they dumped him eight weeks later, trading the wide receiver to the Texans on Tuesday. But the spin coming from the Jets did not even seem to be believed in their own locker room.

General manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan delivered the company line, making rookie Jeremy Kerley sound like the next Jerry Rice, saying the Texans bowled them over with the offer of a conditional seventh-round pick and reiterating that their decision had nothing to do with Mason's critical comments two weeks ago in Baltimore."