Former New York Jets starting linebacker Kwon Alexander is still a free agent in June.
According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, the veteran is going to remain that way unless he drastically changes his asking price on the open market.
“He is looking for money,” Cimini exclaimed on The Jake Asman Show on Monday, June 5. “He is looking for more money than is being offered right now and the money is just not there. I don’t think the Jets are going to bend over backward to get him back in because Jamien Sherwood right now is penciled in at that spot.
[The Jets] don’t want to spend probably more than a million or two on that position. I’m guessing that Kwon Alexander wants more than that. So if he doesn’t drop his price to probably something like the veteran minimum, I think the Jets will just go with Jamien Sherwood.”
Rich Cimini of ESPN said free agent LB Kwon Alexander (@kwon) is ‘looking for more money than he’s being offered right now’ + ‘I don’t think #Jets are going to bend over backwards to get him back in’ + if he doesn’t drop his price to like the vet minimum ‘I think Jets will go w/… t.co/dx0564nutl
Diving Into the Numbers Between the Jets and Kwon Alexander
Cimini said if Alexander’s asking price doesn’t drop to around the veteran minimum then the Jets will likely ride with in-house options.
Technically the minimum in 2023 for an NFL player’s salary is $750,000, per Spotrac.
However, the number continues to increase with the more experience you have at the NFL level.
If you have one year of experience the minimum is $870,000. Two years of experience warrants a $940,000 annual salary. Players with at least three seasons will make $1.08 million.
The minimum for a rookie is $750,000, but that increases to $870,000 for players with one year of experience and $940,000 for players with two years of experience.
Those who have been in the NFL for at least three seasons will make at least $1.08 million. That number jumps to $1.165 million for players that have at least seven seasons of service time.
Alexander has played eight seasons and if he plays in 2023 that would be his ninth professional year in the big leagues.
The former LSU product got slightly more than the minimum from the Jets in 2022. He signed a one-year deal for $1.27 million with $152,500 guaranteed at signing.
Alexander provided plenty of bang for his buck on the Jets in 2022.
He played in all 17 games and made 12 starts when called upon. That was the first time Alexander has stayed healthy for a full season since 2016.
One of the reasons NFL teams aren’t willing to pay him more in 2023 is because of his durability. When you look at Alexander’s track record, the healthy 2022 season looks like an outlier.
For the 28-year-old who will turn 29 before the start of the 2023 season to get paid, he might have to prove he can stay healthy for a second straight year.
New Name Emerges in Jets LB Competition
With Alexander hanging in free agency, the Jets have turned their attention to third-year linebacker Jamien Sherwood.
Head coach Robert Saleh was asked about him during the Tuesday, June 6 media presser.
“Wood is doing a really nice job [but] he’s got it hard [because] he has to work between SAM and MIKE, so he’s got two positions at once. He looks really good though, he’s very smart, and he’s very comfortable in the system and he’s executing at a high level.”
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said door is open for Jamien Sherwood (@JamienSherwood) to be the 3rd starter at LB but said he has it hard learning multiple positions at same time + ‘looks really good’ + ‘very comfortable in system’ + excited for him to slap pads on 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight
In two seasons the former Auburn product has appeared in 22 games and has made four starts during that span.
However, in year No. 3, he has a chance to grab a full-time starting gig for the first time in his young career.
Sherwood is wildly inexperienced compared to Alexander, but he is young and the team is hopeful he can take the next step.
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Ex-Jets LB Kwon Alexander Gets Reality Check Amid Rumors