It is all or nothing for Brian Winters in 2018

Heading into the upcoming season, offensive guard Brian Winters is coming off the worst season of his career with the New York Jets. It’s all or nothing in 2018, otherwise, his tenure on the team will come to an end at some point in 2019.

When it was revealed that offensive guard Brian Winters played the majority of last season dealing with a torn abdomen and abductor muscles injury, it proved just how tough he was. Much respect to him for toughing it out and doing his best to be there for the New York Jets as he played through constant pain. Unfortunately, he played some of the worst football of his career so far with the franchise since he was clearly inhibited by this severe injury.

Even though Winters toughed it out during the majority of the regular season in 2017, it set him back tremendously until he needed to get season-ending surgery towards the end of the year. Since then, he’s been rehabbing and excited to come back ready to do his best and be an anchor again on the Jets offensive line.

Unfortunately for Winters, it’s all or nothing for him as he prepares for his sixth season with the Jets. Ideally, Winters should be able to perform better than he did last season but steady health is a continued concern for the Jets. He’s dealt with injuries in the past so he must push through and prove that he can continue playing at an above-average level consistently after this season is over.

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As per Spotrac, his contract with the Jets has a potential buy out option in 2019. If he doesn’t live up to expectations in 2018, the team has a way to part ways and not incur a tremendous hit to their salary cap.

Luckily for Winters, he’s been able to fully participate in organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. Of course, it was all in t-shirts and shorts but at the end of the day, it looks like his offseason rehabbing program was a success at this point in time.

Overall, there is much to play for in 2018 and beyond. It won’t be long before Winters will hopefully get to protect someone new in the near future. It’s only a matter of time before Sam Darnold’s era begins under center and Winters could be a big part of his future if everything falls into place.