Getty New York Jets defensive tackle Al Woods with the Seattle Seahawks in January of 2023.
The New York Jets shored up the defensive line when they inked Al Woods in early May, but it was unclear how much the veteran run-stuffer would cost the franchise at the time.
Today on May 16, ESPN’s Rich Cimini relayed those contract details via Over the Cap and fans were pleasantly surprised by Woods’ financials. He tweeted: “Al Wood’s contract with the Jets: One year, $2.25M. Includes $1M [guaranteed] (with $500K in signing bonus), per OTC.”
Al Wood’s contract with the #Jets: One year, $2.25M. Includes $1M gtd (with $500K in signing bonus), per OTC.
That means if for some reason Woods does not make the Week 1 roster, the Jets would only surrender $1 million, saving the other $1.16 million in cap space.
Jets Fans React to Al Woods’ Contract Details
Considering how popular Woods was as a “missing piece” among Jets fans, it’s no surprise that most celebrated this contract update on social media.
“Excellent value for a good player at an important position,” the “Play Like A Jet” podcast praised.
Others commended general manager Joe Douglas for this “steal” of a signing.
“Om*g what a steal for Jets,” another fan agreed. “[Sheldon] Rankins was 1 [year]/[$]10M, [Nathan] Shepherd sucks and got a 3 [years]/[$]15M. Al woods for 2.25M$ is a home run for Joe Douglas !!”
And a fourth simply called Douglas “a thief” — which is a compliment for an NFL GM.
Having said that, not every fan was pleased with this move. “Waste!!!!” One fan commented, seemingly upset with the addition. Another even joked that Woods is a “Quinnen Williams replacement” amid the star’s contract disputes.
So long as Woods still has enough left in the tank at age 36, an experienced player of his caliber is certainly worth $1 million in guarantees. He started 14 games for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, tying a career-high in sacks (2.0) with five tackles for a loss, 39 total tackles and three QB hits.
Jets ‘Still Working’ on an Aaron Rodgers Restructure
Cap space is important right now because not only do the Jets need to extend Williams, but they would also like to restructure Aaron Rodgers’ contract so that it’s a little more balanced heading into year two. As it stands on Over the Cap right now, the veteran QB will cost the franchise $107.6 million cap hit in 2024, and only $1.215 million in 2023.
On May 12, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio explained that the Jets are “still working on a new contract” with Rodgers.
“Under his prior contract with the Packers, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a salary of $1.165 million and a fully-guaranteed option bonus of $58.3 million,” Florio informed. “Prior to the trade, Rodgers pushed the entirety of the option bonus to 2024. The details were news to the Jets.”
Florio then quoted an interview with Douglas, where the Jets GM stated: “We knew at the end of the trade that Aaron and Green Bay needed to work some things out. We didn’t know the exact ramifications. It was just important to us that the cap number wasn’t going to go higher than it was at the time that we agreed to it. We didn’t know that it was actually going to go down to the minimum, so when they re-did the deal, you know, we saw the new number, knew that we saw that it was low for this year. We’re still working on restructuring aspects of the deal as we speak, but we feel like we’re in a really good place.”
Florio also noted that “the resolution of the $58.3 million option bonus could result in Rodgers committing to two years in order to earn the full amount of what he was due to make this year and what he’s due to make next year.” Adding: “It also could, in theory, result in Rodgers taking less money over the next two years.”