The New York Jets are going to be making some significant changes to the roster after this underwhelming 2021 campaign.
With a bevy of draft selections and ample cap space, they have the power to make some big-time moves.
Before any future moves are factored in the Jets project to have $48 million in 2022 which would rank eighth in the NFL, per Over The Cap.
Although they will have an opportunity to create some more cap space by making a few of these moves.
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Switching One Lawson out With Another
One of the first moves the Jets can execute to create some more cap space is moving on from pass-rusher Shaq Lawson.
Tyler Greenwalt of The Jets Wire said Lawson is “expendable” and “hasn’t played well enough to stick around at his current cap hit.”
Through 13 games, Lawson only has one sack to his name which would be the lowest total of his NFL career in any single season.
The former first-rounder has one more year left on his deal through 2022 for $9 million, but if the Jets decided to move on they could with zero dead cap.
Back during the summer the green and white were desperate for pass rushers after losing prized free agent Carl Lawson to a ruptured Achilles.
With that unfortunate circumstance, general manager Joe Douglas made a savvy move acquiring another Lawson to fill the Lawson void. He sent a 2022 sixth-rounder to the Houston Texans in exchange for his services.
If he balled out, the Jets would’ve kept him through 2022, and if not they could simply move on in the offseason, no harm, no foul.
Lawson accomplished the purpose of the trade, he filled a temporary void, and now the Jets can create some more cap space to fill some of the other holes on the roster in the offseason.
Trimming Some Fat
.@Connor_J_Hughes asked #Jets OL Greg Van Roten (@its_GVR) what needs to change b/c Zach Wilson (@ZachWilson) is taking a beating out there, GVR used this opportunity to throw his QB under the bus, ‘he’s gotta learn this is the #NFL you got to get the ball out’: #NYJvsDEN
In that same USA Today column, Greenwalt listed some other moves the Jets could make this offseason to create additional cap space.
Release offensive lineman Greg Van Roten
This one is a mere formality. GVR was benched after the Jets found a suitable replacement via trade when they acquired Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. He has been an awful starting right guard and Gang Green will assuredly part ways this offseason.
When that move becomes official the Jets will save the entirety of his $3.5 million cap hit. LDT is also scheduled to be a free agent, so they’ll have to find a long-term replacement in free agency or the 2022 NFL draft.
Cut linebacker Blake Cashman
The often injured linebacker hasn’t been able to stay on the field since being taken in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft. In three years he has only played in 14 games and his injury woes from college followed him to the pros, go figure.
He still has one last year on his deal through 2022 which is pretty cheap (just over $1 million cap hit), but the Jets would only eat a $75,000 dead cap hit for the move.
Both of these players have had their chance in the spotlight and for one reason or another they haven’t lived up to the billing.
It is time to trim the fat and bring some new bodies in the offseason to help change the narrative on 1 Jets Drive.
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Jets Starters, Including Former First Rounder, Could Be Cut, Says Analyst