Jets have the worst cap situation in the NFL

Don't we know it all?

Even after the proposed cuts (and 30M clearing) Jets still have 70M tied to 7 players. Those under rookie contracts are making considerably less, but they make 1-2M/yr too. Add in the back ups and ST players, and this has a make-up of a talent-depleted roster.

I seriously doubt if you can shell out 10M/yr contracts like candies (like Jets have) and have a competitive roster. As for now, Jets have a lot of these, even after the proposed cuts:

Nacho ($13M), Harris ($13M), Tone ($12.5M), Cro ($10.75), Ferguson ($10.75M), Mangold ($9.1M), Revis ($9M)

I don't think anyone of the list warrants his salary level under any circumstances. Like I said for umpteenth time, starter quality salary is $5M/yr. Unless you possess the ability to elevate the playing level of the ENTIRE squad (i.e. QBs) you shouldn't pay more than 5M on any player. (And if you spend 5M per player, you're going to spend up to the cap, without a wiggle room for freak accidents that could happen. Prudent call would be to pay less than 5M per player.) Spending more on one player means you are forced to spend less on the rest of them all - not a winning proposition, if you ask me.

I don't know if Jets OL was the very best NFL had to offer last year (I know it wasn't.) but the salary level is quite ridiculous for their performance.

David Harris is up for 13M - That needs to come down by 1/3. Nacho should just take the vet min - he was 35th best QB in 32-team league. Good fucking riddance.

Tying up 20M of cap space on 2 CBs is not a brilliant call either, best player or not. As good as Revis is (and Cro has been this season) they cannot cover more than one receiver - and that happens if the other offense chooses to pass the ball. 10M for that? For two of these? What, are you kidding me?

 

You're looking at this the wrong way. They have some room for moves this off-season. They aren't breaking the bank for anyone but they can make moves. In a draft class with no clear QB to choose from I'd rather then not be in position to select the next franchise QB in a weak draft like they did last time. In '14 Sanchez and Holmes are likely off the team, possibly Harris too. That's 38mm of cap value in '13 off the team (about $31mm in savings for '14).

That leaves Mangold, D'Brick, Cro, Harris(if he stays) and Revis as the heavyweight contracts for '14. (A new QB will need $$). Aside from Harris these guys are all major contributors and should be in '14. Harris is the person they need to deal with and either get him back on track or see what value he has in trade.

There is always added flexibility in considering a Revis trade but again, its a weak draft for QB's so why bother this year? They can deal with a trade / new contract after the season.

The key for the new GM is convincing Revis he'll get a revised deal after the '13 season when this $31mm is available. His agent is no dummy, I'm sure he knows the Jets situation so if it plays it right he'll get paid.

 

This isn't related to 2013, but while going over cap information today I realized something, and any cap expert correct me if I'm wrong.

But, Revis's prorated Bonus is 3M, so if for some fit of insanity we cut him in 2013 (won't happen, trade maybe, cut no way) the cap hit would be 12M. Now heres the thing, Revis can opt out after 2013. If he opts out and signs elsewhere the Jets will still get hit with a 9M salary cap hit in 2014 because the last 3 prorated bonus years would accelerate...wouldn't that just suck, lose Revis to free agency AND get hit with a 9M cap hit to boot?

 

I'd be VERY leery of reworking Holmes or Harris. That's what got them into this mess in the first place. I don't consider either an elite player worthy of fixing their spot on the roster for '14 (even without reworking, dumping Harris after the '13 season is a tough pill to swallow but it won't kill the team. Re-working him to the point where they can't swallow that pill and his play declines to a Bart Scott level worries me). As far as I'm concerned next year should be Holmes last on the team and they eat the $2.5mm in dead money for '14.

With players like Harris you'd rather be a year early than a year late dumping them.

They will have the same issue with D'Brick shortly and eventually Mangold.

 

I agree but the Jets are in a very strange cap hell. They can't get relief by cutting the people who might be good cuts on the year early plan, like Harris. The only alternative may be reworking them.

 

Yeah, I'm assuming that 20+ slots including 10+ starters on $15.3 million is undoable. After that you get down to the reworks. There just isn't any other way to do it.

Like I said, it is a strange cap hell.

If the Jets were just going to tank the year then they start 10 young guys making next to nothing in addition to the 10 young guys as depth to fill out the roster. They might get by on $15M in cap space doing that. They probably go like 5-11 as a ceiling in that situation though. Among other things they either have Sanchez with *less* talent around him or McElroy or a draft pick at QB.

 

Next year's schedule isn't promising regardless. They play the AFC North and NFC South plus Oakland and Tennessee. To think they'll go 3-1 against either division is pie in the sky, even 4-4 against those divisions is to me very optimistic. Their focus clearly better be on sweeping the fish and Bills and winning both the Oakland and Tennessee games to have any shot at a .500 or better record. Given their schedule I doubt spending $$ with re-works will translate into a competitive team with a chance to make the playoffs so I'd hold off. 8-8 next year should be good enough to save Rex if Woody is being honest about the talent on the team and the strength of schedule.

 

With a few significant changes the Jets have a 20% shot at the playoffs next year and a small chance at making some noise. I just don't see them giving up that opportunity entirely given the year in question.

The problem is that a few things have to come together just right to give the Jets that 20% chance. They need to find a decent vet QB to play for them next year. They need to find 2 or 3 young LB's to play well for them. They need a RB and probably a TE. They need Stephen Hill to play better than expected. That's a lot of ifs.

 

To some other team with a blind GM or in the CFL...or some even lower league...


Maybe he can coach his Church team

 

I always thought Tebow made little sense for Jax. The receiver position figures to be a strength there. They need to continue to develop those players.

 

Tebow for the Jacksonvill Jaguars may or may not have made on the field sense, but it did, and still does, make Boxoffice. the Jags ranked 20th in attendence in 2012, considering their record that's actually pretty good, but bringing in Tebow would have increased ticket sales, even if he didn't become the starter. Sad part is it actually costs the Jets more to cut Tebow than to trade him, trading him is a 0 cap hit, but cutting him is a 1M cap hit.

 

Why would that be a lie.

I have recruited a lot of CEOs in my life and generally you try to clean the table for the new guy. NYJ are doing anything but, you get Rex, Sanchez and the cap situation.
Only way out of that is to have an understanding that the clock starts at the end of next year, but who would buy that you can control that as an owner, ie empty promises.

Only thing NYJ has going for them is that a GM position is fundamentally attractive, but you do not get anybody with a choice, generally the good ones.

 

I read an article somewhere a fewweeks back saying once we cut a trio of players we will be 40 million over the cap and once we restructure some contracts it will go even higher over the cap, So you can't look at the captheway it stands today and think it's gonna be like that in the Spring

 

That article was wrong. When the Jets cut Scott, Pace and Jason Smith they'll get down to just below the cap number for 2013. They're at $146.76M or so now. The three biggest cuts are Smith at $12M, Pace at $8.56M and Scott at $7.15M. The total cap gain from cutting those 3 is $27.91M. So the Jets will then be at $118.85M of the projected $121M cap.