4 NY Jets players who could be cap casualties this offseason

The NY Jets are set to enter the offseason with a projected $47 million in cap space which ranks as one of the higher figures in the NFL. They should be able to increase that number with a few moves as well.

General manager Joe Douglas has done a good job cleaning up the cap mess that former GM Mike Maccagnan left the Jets in. Gone are awful contracts for the likes of Trumaine Johnson and Le'Veon Bell.

For the most part, Douglas has played it safe on the free-agent market. As a result, the Jets still have their fair share of financial flexibility entering the offseason.

Even still, just as teams do every year, there are a few players on the team who could be released in an effort to create additional cap space.

Sometimes these players simply aren't performing up to the standard set by their contract and teams are just looking to get their money's worth. Other times, there just isn't enough guaranteed money on a deal to warrant keeping a player around at that price point.

We saw that last year with Jamison Crowder. Crowder was a productive player for the Jets, but his lack of guaranteed money gave the team all the leverage and allowed them to force him to take a pay cut with the threat that he would just be released if he didn't agree.

Either way, the Jets have their options. Let's take a look at four players who could be cap casualties this offseason.

4. Connor McGovern, C, NY Jets

Of the four players on this list, Connor McGovern is the most likely to still be on the Jets' roster next season. For as much flack as he's gotten, McGovern proved to be a reliable starting-caliber center in 2021.

He's a good player, but with a $10.33 million cap hit, the Jets could look to create some additional cap space. McGovern's contract has just $1.33 million in dead cap meaning the Jets could save $10 million by releasing him.

Of course, releasing McGovern would create an extra hole the Jets would need to fill, perhaps even using the money they saved. And it's not as if McGovern didn't play up to his contract in 2021.

The 28-year-old finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 75.9 that ranked 10th among all centers in the NFL this past season. He was a legitimately good player, certainly worth the price the team was paying him.

However, if they need the money and feel they could upgrade in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Jets might just move on from McGovern. Iowa's Tyler Linderbaum is one of the best center prospects the NFL has seen in a long time and, if McGovern is cut, he immediately becomes a target.

The Jets could even do what the Washington Football Team did with Morgan Moses last offseason — draft his replacement and release him after the draft. That's hardly an ideal scenario for McGovern, but it's one the Jets could explore.

Ultimately, I'd expect McGovern to be on the Jets' roster in 2022. But it's not a given, which is why he lands on this list.

3. Ryan Griffin, TE, NY Jets

One player who seems very likely to have played his final game with the Jets is tight end Ryan Griffin. The Jets essentially punted on the tight end position this past offseason.

With so many needs, it was impossible to address everything in one offseason, although they did try to sign Jonnu Smith in free agency. Nonetheless, expect the Jets to overhaul their tight end room this offseason.

That overhaul should include the departure of Griffin who is entering the final year of a three-year, $10.8 million extension he signed with the team back in 2019.

Griffin is set to hold a cap hit of $3.28 million in 2021, but with $0 in guaranteed money remaining on his deal, the Jets should have no trouble cutting ties.

Releasing Griffin saves the Jets the full $3.28 million remaining on his contract and that money could easily be allocated toward more valuable assets. Griffin just isn't a very effective player at this stage.

He's had a surprisingly productive stint in New York hauling in 70 catches for 667 yards and seven touchdowns in 42 games over three years. But it's time for the Jets to go in a different direction.

Don't expect Ryan Griffin to still be on the Jets' roster come Week 1 of 2022.

2. Greg Van Roten, OG, NY Jets

Another player with $0 in guaranteed money who seems destined to be released in the offseason is veteran offensive guard Greg Van Roten. Signed as a free agent prior to the 2020 season, Van Roten started 13 games in his first season and returned as the starting right guard in 2021.

The Jets made a couple of changes to their offensive line in the offseason, but they didn't find a replacement for Van Roten who admittedly struggled in his first year in green and white. That turned out to be a mistake.

Van Roten struggled again in 2021, so much so that the Jets actually traded for his replacement at the deadline acquiring longtime Kansas City Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.

Duvernay-Tardif almost immediately replaced Van Roten in the starting lineup as the latter was benched following the team's Week 10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Van Roten finished with a PFF pass-block grade of 53.7 that ranked 59th out of 82 qualified guards and even paced the Jets in pressures allowed for weeks after he was benched.

Van Roten won't be the Jets' starting guard in 2022. There's a chance they could keep him around as a backup, though. With a cap hit of $3.5 million, it might be worth keeping him on the roster as depth.

However, it's probably in the best interest of both parties to just move on at this point.

1. Sheldon Rankins, DT, NY Jets

One of the sneakier 2021 additions who underperformed this season was defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. Rankins was signed to a two-year, $11 million contract last offseason with the hope that he could further bolster the Jets' interior defensive line.

A former first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints, Rankins was expected to help out the interior pass rush. Unfortunately, he proved to be more of a liability than anything,

Rankins finished with just three sacks and seven QB hits despite playing 16 games — the most he had played since his eight-sack 2018 season. His 60.0 PFF pass-rush grade ranked just 69th out of 103 qualified interior defensive linemen.

He wasn't particularly effective as a pass rusher, and his run defense was a massive issue. Rankins' PFF run-defense grade of 34.4 ranked a lowly 133rd out of 142 qualified interior defensive linemen in the NFL.

Rankins' issues in run defense were one of the biggest reasons the Jets' overall run defense struggled this season. It may have flown a little under the radar, but he just wasn't the player he was expected to be in 2021.

Rankins is set to have a cap hit of roughly $6.19 million next season, but the Jets could move on with just $750,000 in dead cap. Releasing him would save the team $5.44 million in cap space — cap space that could be allocated elsewhere.

This contract was always essentially a one-year deal with a team option of sorts. Rankins didn't live up to expectations in 2021 which makes it likely he isn't back in 2022.