The New York Jets contract restructures have begun. The team has contacted the agents of several players, with CJ Mosley, DJ Reed, and John Franklin-Myers among those whose contracts might be structured to open cap room for the upcoming start of the league year.
These restructures come at a crucial time, too, as any trade for Aaron Rodgers -- whom the Jets have reportedly met with -- cannot happen unless the organization finds a way to fit Rodgers’ contract.
New York can clear up to $20 million from their books through restructures with Reed, Mosley, and Franklin-Myers. However, they can only do so by affecting their cap in other years due to the length of each contract. Reed currently has a cap hit of $14.1 million, but the Jets would be able to clear up to $4.9 million from their cap with a restructure. Doing so would bring Reed’s cap hit in 2024 to just over $19 million.
The Jets have already cleaned up CJ Uzomah’s contract and cut Braxton Berrios to open cap space. Their trade for Chuck Clark may also lead to the team cutting Jordan Whitehead, which would release $10.2 million from the books.
CJ Mosley is in a similar situation to that of DJ Reed, as his cap hit is currently the highest on the Jets at $21.4 million. New York would be able to clear $10.5 million in cap space for 2023 with a restructuring, but that would bring Mosley’s cap hit in 2024 to $25.4 million. This would also be the second contract restructure that Mosley has gone through in the last seven months.
The Jets will have to decide how much money they can put into the future before they jeopardize being able to pay for their young core, dancing the ever-delicate dance of "win-now vs. build-for-the-future."
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