NY Jets: New salary cap number benefits team greatly

The NY Jets got some good news from the new salary cap implications when it comes to all roster moves.

The Jets got the perfect news they needed for the offseason. The salary cap number has been finalized and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com the number is officially set at $155.27M, and the Jets still have moves to make, including cutting players and restructuring the contracts of their top paid players.

That’s actually good news for the Jets. In December, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that the cap could jump to between $150M and $154.3M. So, now the Jets will have more room than expected to work with.

The Jets now need to work on cutting more players. It is my contention they should cut Sheldon Richardson, because I believe the NFL will suspend him for around eight games, even though they haven’t done so already. What we can expect out him in those eight remaining games wouldn’t be worth the remaining contract hit when we can cut him and get the same production over 16 games for less money. Other cuts I think will happen are Jeremy Kerley, Jeff Cumberland and Breno Giacomini.

There is still a lot of work to do for the Jets to be able to sign free agents. In December, ESPN’s Rich Cimini suggested a risky proposition, that Darrelle Revis probably wouldn’t mind, because he’d get his money regardless.

The Jets can renegotiate his deal. If they convert his base salary to signing bonus, it would save them $12M this season, but it would be spread over the next three seasons adding $4M to the cap number each season.

Proposed Cuts and RestructuresNameSalary Cap Savings*Breno Giacomini$4,375,000Sheldon Richardson$1,776,000Jeremy Kerley$1,300,000Jeff Cumberland$1,900,000Darrelle Revis restructure savings$12,000,000Ferguson restructure savings$4,320,000*-Based on numbers from Over the Cap 

2016 Salary Cap NumbersSalary Cap$157,754,216Jets Current Cap Number$139,402,851Cap Room$18,351,365Estimated Franchise tag for Wilkerson$14,780,000Savings from cuts and restructures$25,671,000New space$29,242,365

The most like scenario will be:

Probable Cuts and RestructuresNameSalary Cap Savings*Breno Giacomini$4,375,000Jeremy Kerley$1,300,000Jeff Cumberland$1,900,000Ferguson restructure savings$4,320,000*-Based on numbers from Over the Cap

2016 Salary Cap NumbersSalary Cap$157,754,216Jets Current Cap Number$139,402,851Cap Room$18,351,365Estimated Franchise tag for Wilkerson$14,780,000Savings from cuts and restructures$11,895,000New space$15,466,365

However, the it may not be as risky as Cimini first thought, given the recent trend in the cap. The salary cap has gone up at least $10M each year for the last three seasons.

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Regardless of which direction the Jets decide to go, general manager Mike Maccagnan has his work cut out for him. If he’s able to work magic, and get the combination of free agents and draft picks while working this cap space, he will certainly be earning his paycheck. If all his moves leads Jets to the NFL Playoffs, he will be on his way to his second straight NFL Executive of the Year award.