NY Jets not expected to cut John Franklin-Myers, per report

The NY Jets will have to make some difficult cap-related decisions this offseason, and that could include trading or outright releasing a number of key players on the roster. One name that's been floated around is defensive end John Franklin-Myers.

Cutting Franklin-Myers doesn't make a ton of sense given that a pre-Jun. 1 release would save $5.2 million and incur a dead cap hit of $7.2 million, per Over The Cap. A post-Jun. 1 cut would only save less than $1 million in additional cap space.

However, a trade could be feasible. If the Jets were to trade Franklin-Myers before Jun. 1, the team would save $11.2 million in cap space and take on only $1.2 million in dead cap. Trading him after Jun. 1 would result in just $400,000 in dead cap.

Despite this, the Jets are seemingly unlikely to move on from Franklin-Myers this offseason. The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt reported on Monday that Franklin-Myers "isn’t expected to be moved" because "he’s an important piece of the defense."

Rosenblatt did indicate that the veteran defensive end could be a candidate for a restructure. That seems to be the most realistic path moving forward.

The NY Jets should restructure the contract if John Franklin-Myers

Franklin-Myers has very little guaranteed money past this upcoming season. He has just $1.2 million in guarantees for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, which makes him a prime candidate for a restructure.

The Jets could approach Franklin-Myers and ask him to trim his cap hit in 2023 in exchange for more guaranteed money in the future. If the team wants to create a little cap space and keep him on the roster past this season, that's the most logical direction.

Franklin-Myers is a rock-solid contributor on the Jets' defensive line. The coaching staff loves his versatility, and he's been remarkably durable over the last two seasons, missing just one game due to injury.

Perhaps he's fallen a bit short of the four-year, $55 million contract Joe Douglas handed him in October of 2021, but Franklin-Myers is a good player and an important part of the defense.

The Jets aren't going to move on from him unless they absolutely have to, and the fact that their only realistic way to move on is via a trade makes it even more unlikely. This isn't a Carl Lawson situation where the Jets can simply cut him and save a ton of money.

Expect John Franklin-Myers to be on the Jets' roster in 2023, and my guess is that it'll be at a lower cap hit than he currently possesses.