Sometimes the lord giveth and sometimes the lord taketh.
On the same day that the New York Jets exercised the fifth-year team option on Will McDonald’s contract, they declined that same option on Mazi Smith’s rookie deal.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini was the first to share the news on social media.
“The Jets declined to exercise the fifth-year option for DT Mazi Smith, whom they acquired from Dallas in the Quinnen Williams trade. Smith, who played only three games (54 snaps) for the Jets last season, is under contract for the coming season. He will be a free agent in 2027,” Cimini posted.
Smith’s fifth-year option on his contract was a projected $13.93 million fully guaranteed, per Over The Cap.
This Was a Low Risk vs. Low Reward Move
The bread and butter of the blockbuster Williams trade to Dallas last year was the draft compensation.
Gang Green picked up a 2026 second-rounder (No. 44 overall) and a 2027 first-round pick. The first-round pick next year that ends up with the Jets will be whichever pick is higher between the Green Bay Packers and the Cowboys.
Also thrown into the deal was Smith.
Smith, 24, will turn 25 before the start of the 2026 season. The former Michigan product originally entered the league as the No. 26 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Typically, when you are a first-round pick, you get plenty of chances to prove yourself at the NFL level, whether that is from your original team or the next one.
It makes sense that the Jets were willing to kick the tires on Smith. When they were set to jettison Williams, they were losing a piece at defensive tackle. Why not replace his body with that of another defensive tackle?
Clearly, Smith is no Williams, but he was young with upside.
I asked RJ Ochoa, a Cowboys Insider, on “Boy Green Daily” about Smith potentially being a low risk versus high reward type of move.
He bluntly explained that Dallas had trouble giving him away to another team last offseason. Ochoa’s sobering reality check is that Smith likely wasn’t going to amount to anything, but the Jets had nothing to lose by trying.
Tough Time Making the Roster
Smith getting his option declined doesn’t make him a free agent right now. It just means that after the 2026 season, Smith is scheduled to reach the open market.
If he makes it to next year.
The brutal reality is that the Jets are overflowing with talent on the interior defensive line:
Those five players are absolute stone-cold locks to make the roster. Are the Jets going to keep more than five defensive tackles on the 53-man roster? That seems hard to believe.
All of those players are either proven veterans or young players with upside. There aren’t any slouches in this group. Smith, if he were in good standing with the team, would have a difficult time trying to make this team, let alone considering how disappointing he was last year with the Jets.
Jets Reject $13.9 Million Contract Option on Ex-1st Round Pick