The NFL salary cap is set to expand in 2022 and that’s great news for New York Jets fans.
On Wednesday, May 26 we learned that the NFL and the NFLPA had come to terms on a new salary-cap ceiling for the 2022 season.
The ceiling was set at just a hair over $208 million which is $25 million more than the current salary cap ($182.5 million).
This is a massive jump, but still not quite what was projected pre-COVID. The NFL salary cap isn’t expected to catch back up until 2023 at the earliest.
Although the seismic jump does represent “a roughly 14% increase from the 2021 cap and the highest one-year jump in the nearly 30-year history of the NFL salary cap,” per ESPN.
With that projection, the Jets are set to have north of $67 million in cap space (which would be the third-most in the NFL), per Spotrac.
That means Gang Green will have plenty of money to play with, in what many experts predict to be the year of the Jets in 2022.
Everything Lining up for a Massive Jump Next Year
A lot of fans are really excited for this upcoming 2021 season, but there are a lot of question marks:
- A first-year head coach in Robert Saleh
- Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson making the jump from BYU to the NFL
- Gang Green has the fifth-youngest roster in the NFL with an average age of 24.82
Despite all of that unknown, there’s still a chance that all of these pieces can come together this year.
Although there’s a much better chance that the Jets will break through in 2022. All of the youth on the roster will be another year older and they’ll be entering year No. 2 of this new system on both offense and defense.
Plus the green and white have 11 picks in the 2022 NFL draft and all of the salary cap space we already mentioned.
Top 2022 Free Agent Wide Receivers
The upcoming 2022 free-agent wide receiver class is delicious. While the 2021 Jets may not have a No. 1 wide receiver, they could have one as soon as next season.
Davante Adams, wide receiver, Green Bay Packers
- Market value: $24.9 million per year (would be the second-highest-paid wideout in the NFL).
- Will be 29 years old when 2022 free agency begins.
Adams is the big fish that is expected to reach the open market. The four-time Pro Bowler’s future is looking murky with the uncertainty of the Aaron Rodgers situation in Green Bay.
He already loves the color green, why not a slightly different shade in New York? If the Jets landed the former All-Pro they would instantly acquire one of the best receivers in all of football.
Allen Robinson, wide receiver, Chicago Bears
- Market value: $20 million per year (would be the third highest-paid wide receiver in football).
- Will be 28 years old when 2022 free agency begins.
Jets fans were hoping A-Rob was already on the Jets, but the Chicago Bears used the franchise tag on him this offseason. The former Pro Bowler is the perfect kind of wide receiver for the Jets.
He’s proven that he can make chicken salad out of chicken you know what. Robinson has played with trash quarterbacks his entire career and has still put up video game numbers.
Chris Godwin, wide receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Market value: $17.1 million per year (would be the seventh highest-paid wideout in the NFL).
- Will be 26 years old when 2022 free agency begins.
Perhaps one of the most underrated receivers that projects to be available. Godwin may not be the household name some of these other stars are, but he’s legit.
Godwin is still incredibly young and hasn’t reached his full potential at the NFL level. He can play in the slot or outside and would add some sizzle to the Jets’ receiving core.
Robby Anderson, wide receiver, Carolina Panthers
- Anderson doesn’t have his own market value but did sign a two-year deal for $20 million in 2020 with the Panthers. His $10 million average per year ranks him 26th among all wideouts.
- Will be 28 years old when 2022 free agency begins.
No one loves a Hollywood story more so than the fine folks in New York. The Jets misinterpreted Anderson’s value on the open market and lost him to the Panthers.
General manager Joe Douglas admitted he made a mistake and wish he could’ve kept Anderson in Gang Green. Fast forward two years later and he can right the wrong of the past.
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Davante Adams Among 4 Jets’ WR Options With Expanded Cap