For the third consecutive day, the New York Jets went into the unrestricted free agent market to address an obvious need on defense, this time reaching an agreement with former Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Aaron Beasley on Friday afternoon.

The addition of Beasley, a six-year veteran, followed the Wednesday signing of linebacker Sam Cowart and the acquisition Thursday of defensive end Steve White. Last weekend, New York re-signed middle linebacker Marvin Jones, who had been released in a salary cap move.

The Jets lost both their starting cornerbacks, Aaron Glenn and Marcus Coleman, to the Houston Texans in the expansion draft. Beasley is penciled in already as a starter, with former nickel corner Ray Mickens.

Beasley, 28, signed a four-year contract worth $13.5 million, including a $2.2 million signing bonus and more than $2 million in guaranteed money during the contract.

The former West Virginia standout, a third-round draft choice of the Jaguars in 1996, is noted as a physical cornerback who will gamble on the interception and sometimes get beat on the double move by a wide receiver. He was part of the most recent veteran purge by the Jaguars as the club struggled with salary cap problems for a second consecutive spring.

Beasley said Friday he was not surprised at his release by the Jaguars and that he was excited by the chance to start over again with the Jets.

"I'm looking forward to playing for (head coach) Herm Edwards and for (defensive coordinator) Ted Cottrell," he said. "They are men I admire and who know how to coach defense. I know it's hard when you have to release some people because of the cap. But there are solid veterans here and a great coaching staff."

The Jets had flirted with the idea of trading for Tampa Bay cornerback Donnie Abraham, who played for Edwards in Tampa Bay, but decided Beasley was a better option.

Beasley said the timing of his departure from the Jaguars was perfect.

"A lot of guys are stressed down there, and I didn't think I could take it anymore," Beasley said. "If they hadn't cut me, I was thinking maybe they could trade me or something. I kept praying that I was going to end up with Coach Edwards, who lost two corners. I predicted once I would intercept two picks off of Miami, and I got them in a playoff game. And my prediction that I'd go with Coach Edwards came true. You're looking at the next Miss Cleo.’’

Beasley said another problem in Jacksonville is that he and other Jaguars teammates such as Jimmy Smith were promised big contracts that never materialized.

"A lot of guys were promised this and that, but they didn't get anything," Beasley said. "Sometimes, that comes back and bites you in the butt."

In his six previous NFL seasons, Beasley appeared in 76 games and started 71 of them. He had 278 tackles, 15 interceptions, 71 passes defensed, 7½ sacks and seven forced fumbles. He has two interception returns for touchdowns.

A durable defender, Beasley has averaged 14 starts over the past four seasons. His career year came in 1999, when he had six interceptions.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. John Clayton contributed to this report.