4 NY Jets starters fighting for their 2023 roster spots this season

The NY Jets roster has experienced an immense amount of turnover over the last few seasons. At the time of writing, only seven players remain from the pre-Joe Douglas era in New York.

Of those seven, only two (Quinnen Williams and C.J. Mosley) are projected to be starters this season, aside from long snapper Thomas Hennessy. Douglas has completely revamped the Jets roster in just a few short years.

In fact, of the 90 players currently under contract, 79 joined the team in 2020 or later. I don't have the exact figures on hand, but I can't imagine there's another NFL roster that can match that.

Say what you want about Douglas' time with the Jets, but he's done an excellent job of clearing up what was once an abysmal cap situation and maintaining healthy financial flexibility.

Even the signings that haven't panned out under Douglas' guidance have been structured in a way that allows the team to move on rather quickly. That's a common trend you'll find with a number of the players on this list.

The Jets have quite a few notable players who are fighting for their 2023 roster spots this season. The four players on this list are all well-established starters with the team, but none of them are even guaranteed to be on the roster next year.

Let's take a closer look at those four players and what they could do to solidify roles in 2023.

4. Carl Lawson, DE, NY Jets

The Jets have yet to even see Carl Lawson play a single regular-season snap with the team just yet. The former Cincinnati Bengals standout missed his entire first season with the Jets after tearing his Achilles.

Lawson was the talk of the summer in 2021 and many were projecting him to have a monster season under the tutelage of new head coach Robert Saleh. Unfortunately, his Achilles tear prevented that from happening, and the Jets' defense really never recovered.

There's once again optimism that Lawson could return healthy and better than ever in 2022, and that's really where the focus should be with him. But an overlooked storyline is that he's essentially fighting for his Jets future this season.

The Jets signed Lawson to a hefty three-year, $45 million contract in March of 2021. The contract featured $30 million in guarantees, although the structure and layout of those guarantees are what's most important.

Lawson has roughly $333,000 remaining in guarantees after 2022, meaning that the Jets could theoretically cut him and save over $15 million with almost no dead cap hit.

Now, it would take a pretty significant development for the Jets to cut bait with Lawson after this season, but what happens if he misses significant time with an injury again?

The Jets have the flexibility to cut ties with him if they deem he's not worth the $15 million. They essentially have a team option on his contract after this year.

While it's flown somewhat under the radar, Carl Lawson is very much fighting for his Jets future this year.

3. C.J. Mosley, LB, NY Jets

The Jets love the veteran guidance, leadership, and energy that C.J. Mosley brings to the locker room and the team's defense. He may not be quite the player he used to be, but he's as valuable to the organization as any player on the roster.

All of that may be true, but the fact is that Joe Douglas has been waiting to get Mosley's contract off the books since the day he agreed to become the Jets' new general manager.

Former GM Mike Maccagnan reset the linebacker market when he signed Mosley to a record-setting five-year, $85 million contract in the 2019 offseason. It was the only way Maccagnan, who was never one to be economical with his money, was able to get Mosley to agree to leave Baltimore.

That decision hasn't exactly worked out and Mosley's contract has been easily the worst on the Jets roster in each of the last few years. They've been stuck with that contract since he signed it, due to a combination of a player-friendly structure and clauses that pushed money back later in his deal.

That changes in 2023, however.

The Jets will have the opportunity to release Mosley and free up $18.5 million in cap space while incurring a dead cap hit of just $3 million. While Douglas never likes taking on dead cap, it's hard to see him passing up that opportunity.

The only feasible way Mosley remains with the Jets (at least under his current deal) past this season is if he returns to prime form and plays like one of the best linebackers in football.

Otherwise, Douglas won't hesitate to finally shed a contract that has hindered the Jets' cap situation since he joined the organization.

2. Mekhi Becton, OT, NY Jets

Unlike the three others on this list, Mekhi Becton can't really be cut after this season. While some have even (foolishly) suggested the Jets could release Becton this summer, financial implications make it pretty much impossible.

The same is true to a lesser extent next year. If the Jets release Becton in 2023, they would take on a dead cap charge of roughly $5.9 million — a figure that is equivalent to his cap hit.

In simpler terms, it would cost the Jets the exact same amount of money to cut Becton as it would be to release him. That means if the Jets were to cut Becton, they would deem it more valuable to the organization to not have him on the roster, even if keeping him costs the same cap figure.

That would be quite the indictment of Becton's value, which is why it remains more likely that the Jets trade him than anything else.

Rumors swirled all offseason that the Jets could look to move on from Becton in favor of someone like rookie Ikem Ekwonu. There isn't a more controversial player on the roster right now.

The Jets are still hoping that Becton could return healthy and motivated this season. They want him to be a long-term solution. But it's also clear that they're far from sold on him actually fulfilling his potential.

If Becton is forced to miss significant time due to injury in 2022, or he just struggles when healthy, the Jets might not hesitate this time around to replace him.

Mekhi Becton is fighting for his starting job and future roster spot this season.

1. Corey Davis, WR, NY Jets

The Jets hoped that they had landed a rising star when they signed Corey Davis to a three-year, $37.5 million contract last offseason. The hope was that Davis, who was coming off a career year, could emerge as the Jets' WR1 in 2021.

Unfortunately, Davis fell well short of expectations in his first year with the team.

The former Western Michigan star finished with just 34 catches for 492 yards and four touchdowns. He missed eight games due to injury and struggled mightily with drops at times.

Davis put together the worst statistical season of his NFL career since his rookie campaign — a far cry from the player the Jets believed could reach 1,000 yards in 2021.

Going into 2022, Davis is expected to be part of a much-improved Jets receiving corps that also features Elijah Moore, Garrett Wilson, and the team's most talented tight end room in over a decade.

That will hopefully alleviate some of the pressure and allow Davis to find success this season, but the Jets have a backup plan in case things go south.

In true Joe Douglas fashion, Davis has less than $1 million in guaranteed money remaining on his contract after this season, meaning the Jets could cut him and save nearly $11 million in net cap space.

If Davis underperforms again in 2022, the Jets could just move on and cut their losses. Davis will need to be a much more consistent player this season if he's going to remain on the Jets roster.