Jets GM Joe Douglas can start roster makeover with $25 million in cap cuts

[joewilly12]

Jets GM Joe Douglas can start roster makeover with $25 million in cap cuts

The anticipated cuts will create at least $25.1 million in salary-cap room. Currently, they have $49.7 million in space, according to overthecap.com. It will allow the Jets to be active in free agency, although they won't have as much flexibility as last offseason.

A breakdown of the top players on the chopping block:

Likely cuts

 

Cornerback Trumaine Johnson's current cap charge is $15 million, and he will cost the Jets $12 million if he's cut by March 20. David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire

Trumaine Johnson, cornerback

Current cap charge: $15 million | Dead money if cut: $12 million | Savings: $3 million

The amount of the "dead" charge is borderline criminal, but this is what happens when a team acts out of desperation and throws crazy money at an overrated player -- in a poorly structured contract, no less. Johnson, who signed for five years, $72.5 million, will walk away with $34 million for two mediocre and injury-plagued seasons. The Jets have to cut him by the third day of the league year (March 20) or else his $11 million salary for 2020, guaranteed for injury only, will become fully guaranteed. Adding insult to injury, they can't use the June 1 designation because there are no June 1 cuts in the final year of the collective bargaining agreement. It would've allowed them to spread the cap hit over two years.

Brian Winters, guard

 

 

Current cap charge: $7.3 million | Dead money if cut: $0 | Savings: $7.3 million

Emotionally, this is a tough one because Winters is so well-respected in the organization, but his performance in recent years suffered because of injuries. He played only nine games last season because of shoulder surgery, probably nine games more than he should've played. Instead of succumbing to a preseason injury, he refused to sit until the pain was unbearable. The Jets need tough guys like Winters, but it's time to say goodbye because of age (29), economics and performance. He has only one year left on his contract, which was structured in a way that allows them to wipe it completely off the books.

Avery Williamson, linebacker

Current cap charge: $8.5 million | Dead money if cut: $2 million | Savings: $6.5 million

You could make an argument to keep Williamson (assuming he has recovered from ACL surgery), but the Jets are looking at the cap implications. Because they overpaid last year for C.J. Mosley ($17.5 million cap charge), the Jets would have $26 million of the cap devoted to two inside linebackers -- way too much. They shopped Williamson last preseason, but that plan was aborted when he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

They expect Mosley (groin surgery) to be healthy for training camp, which reduces Williamson's value. They can save money by replacing him with Neville Hewitt (free agent) or James Burgess Jr. Williamson has only one year left on his deal, but his signing-bonus proration will remain on the cap. There's no sense of urgency because there are no hard deadlines contained in his contract.

Darryl Roberts, cornerback

 

Current cap charge: $6 million | Dead money if cut: $0 | Savings: $6 million

Roberts logged more snaps (defense and special teams) than any corner on the team, but he didn't play at a high enough level to justify the $6 million. The clock is ticking. They must make a decision by the fifth day of the league year (March 22), when $2 million of his $5 million salary becomes fully guaranteed.

Josh Bellamy, wide receiver

Current cap charge: $2.3 million | Dead money if cut: $0 | Savings: $2.3 million

He'll be a 31-year-old special-teamer coming off shoulder surgery. They can get a minimum-salaried player to fill that role.

On the bubble

Nate Hairston, cornerback

Current cap charge: $2.1 million | Dead money if cut: $0 | Savings: $2.1 million

Hairston received an automatic $1.4 million salary bump because he qualified for a proven performance escalator, based on playing time. Ironically, it could work against him. Hairston, acquired in a preseason trade, never clicked with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. As a result, he was leapfrogged by pretty much every corner on the depth chart.

Jonotthan Harrison, center

Current cap charge: $2.25 million | Dead money if cut: $0 | Savings: $2.25 million

They'd be nuts to cut Harrison, but stranger things have happened. While he might not be the long-term answer at center, he has value because of his position flexibility and modest cap charge.

It's complicated

 

Quincy Enunwa's $6 million salary becomes fully guaranteed on March 22. Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire

Quincy Enunwa, wide receiver

Current cap charge: $7.8 million | Dead money if cut: TBD | Savings: TBD

Enunwa's career-threatening neck injury creates major uncertainty. Because of potential cap ramifications, the Jets might have to carry him for 2020 even if he can't play. Here's why:

Enunwa's $6 million salary, which becomes fully guaranteed on March 22, already is guaranteed for injury. So is $4.1 million of his $7.8 million salary in 2021. If he's released with a failed physical, he will be entitled to $10.1 million in injury guarantees, which would count against the 2020 cap (an $11.9 million hit). If he's deemed healthy by the Jets and cut for "skill," he could file an injury grievance if he disagrees with the team's medical evaluation. The Jets are no stranger to injury grievances (see: Kelechi Osemele and Luke Falk).

Some believe this could play out like the Kam Chancellor situation with the Seattle Seahawks. He suffered a severe neck injury in 2017, but remained on the physically-unable-to-perform list for the 2018 season because the cost of releasing him would've been a cap killer. The Seahawks waited until 2019 to cut him. Bottom line for the Jets: Whether they keep Enunwa or cut him, they probably won't realize any immediate cap savings. One source predicted the Jets-Enunwa matter will get messy.

Won't be cut, but ...

Le'Veon Bell, running back

Current cap charge: $15.5 million | Dead money if cut: $19 million | Savings: -$3.5 million

They won't cut Bell; the cap hit is prohibitive. The better question is, will they trade him? The organization has come to the realization that, because of his massive salary, the chances of a trade are remote. To create a market, they'd have to be willing to pay a chunk of his 2020 salary ($13.5 million in total guarantees). Even then, the return would be minimal, probably a Day 3 draft pick. The Jets, who felt Bell gained weight and lost explosiveness as the season went on, have to make it work for another year.

[NYJ1]

Williamson and Harrison should be brought back. I don't care about any of the others.

[FidelioJet]

All looks solid except Bell will be cut.

[TNJet]

Hope Enunwa can return to form. Kids a great player when healthy...when healthy.

[Beerfish]

3 minutes ago, TNJet said:

Hope Enunwa can return to form. Kids a great player when healthy...when healthy.

Great?  I disagree.

[14 in Green]

18 minutes ago, FidelioJet said:

All looks solid except Bell will be cut.

You just read the ramifications of cutting him, and yet you just wrote this? 

[BornJetsFan1983]

2 minutes ago, 14 in Green said:

You just read the ramifications of cutting him, and yet you just wrote this? 

My God bout the only player I don't want to cut is bell. A couple others would be fine to keep but bell should be kept AND hopefully used this year.

[Patriot Killa]

5 hours ago, joewilly12 said:

Trumaine Johnson, cornerback

Current cap charge: $15 million | Dead money if cut: $12 million | Savings: $3 million

The amount of the "dead" charge is borderline criminal, but this is what happens when a team acts out of desperation and throws crazy money at an overrated player -- in a poorly structured contract, no less. Johnson, who signed for five years, $72.5 million, will walk away with $34 million for two mediocre and injury-plagued seasons. The Jets have to cut him by the third day of the league year (March 20) or else his $11 million salary for 2020, guaranteed for injury only, will become fully guaranteed. Adding insult to injury, they can't use the June 1 designation because there are no June 1 cuts in the final year of the collective bargaining agreement. It would've allowed them to spread the cap hit over two years.

 

5 hours ago, joewilly12 said:

Darryl Roberts, cornerback

 

Current cap charge: $6 million | Dead money if cut: $0 | Savings: $6 million

Roberts logged more snaps (defense and special teams) than any corner on the team, but he didn't play at a high enough level to justify the $6 million. The clock is ticking. They must make a decision by the fifth day of the league year (March 22), when $2 million of his $5 million salary becomes fully guaranteed.

 

5 hours ago, joewilly12 said:

Josh Bellamy, wide receiver

Current cap charge: $2.3 million | Dead money if cut: $0 | Savings: $2.3 million

He'll be a 31-year-old special-teamer coming off shoulder surgery. They can get a minimum-salaried player to fill that role.

 

5 hours ago, joewilly12 said:

Brian Winters, guard

 

 

Current cap charge: $7.3 million | Dead money if cut: $0 | Savings: $7.3 million

Emotionally, this is a tough one because Winters is so well-respected in the organization, but his performance in recent years suffered because of injuries. He played only nine games last season because of shoulder surgery, probably nine games more than he should've played. Instead of succumbing to a preseason injury, he refused to sit until the pain was unbearable. The Jets need tough guys like Winters, but it's time to say goodbye because of age (29), economics and performance. He has only one year left on his contract, which was structured in a way that allows them to wipe it completely off the books.

These are my cuts.

[rangerous]

too bad trumaine will be such a cap hit and the break with enunwa won't be clean.  the rest of the cuts can be made.  the replacements can be had for maybe just a little more money for most of the players mentioned so it's not like the jets will be incurring a huge cap hit by cutting and then re-signing others.  bell?  if they revamp the oline there's no reason to cut him or even try to trade unless some team offers something of good value.

[FidelioJet]

29 minutes ago, 14 in Green said:

You just read the ramifications of cutting him, and yet you just wrote this? 

I did and it’s still the better move.  

He’s dead weight and a net negative having him on the roster.  He no longer has the speed to be competitive in the NFL.  Teams take cap hits all the time for bad contracts, with aging players that lost it before their contracts finished..

That’s what happened here.  Nothing personal here, I like Bell - did everything asked of him...but, like it or not, he will be cut.  

[Daddy Wang Doodle]

This is all great and what not, but when is Joe Douglas going to speak up and let us know his exact process and plan leading up to the draft? He needs to stop getting a pass and start making some changes to the analytics department and be more transparent. He's already on the hot seat

[14 in Green]

9 minutes ago, Daddy Wang Doodle said:

This is all great and what not, but when is Joe Douglas going to speak up and let us know his exact process and plan leading up to the draft? He needs to stop getting a pass and start making some changes to the analytics department and be more transparent. He's already on the hot seat

Getting a little antsy, aren't you, Mr. Doodle?

Don't worry, as soon as the Eagles start releasing players, JD will turn into a whirling dervish. He'll be making more moves then you can shake a stick at.

[SR24]

Bring back Poole, keep Harrison. Can cut everyone else or let them hit free agency as far as I'm concerned! 

[Matt39]

34 minutes ago, Daddy Wang Doodle said:

This is all great and what not, but when is Joe Douglas going to speak up and let us know his exact process and plan leading up to the draft? He needs to stop getting a pass and start making some changes to the analytics department and be more transparent. He's already on the hot seat

I mean its just a fact the Jets are one of if not the least dedicated franchise to analytics and Douglas has made virtually zero additions to the football ops staff. But this time the Jets got it right! He's a football man! (who the Eagles were moving on from)

[chirorob]

1 hour ago, NYJ1 said:

Williamson and Harrison should be brought back. I don't care about any of the others.

100 percent agree.  Harrison is cheap even for a backup lineman.

[NYJ1]

1 hour ago, TNJet said:

Hope Enunwa can return to form. Kids a great player when healthy...when healthy.

He'll get cut. There's no doubt his days in NY are up.

[slats]

13 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

I mean its just a fact the Jets are one of if not the least dedicated franchise to analytics and Douglas has made virtually zero additions to the football ops staff. But this time the Jets got it right! He's a football man! (that the Eagles were moving on from)

I like the way you're getting ahead of this, Matt. 

[NYJ1]

36 minutes ago, Daddy Wang Doodle said:

This is all great and what not, but when is Joe Douglas going to speak up and let us know his exact process and plan leading up to the draft? He needs to stop getting a pass and start making some changes to the analytics department and be more transparent. He's already on the hot seat

Relax, Francis. He'll get to having a press conference in due time.

[Matt39]

6 minutes ago, slats said:

I like the way you're getting ahead of this, Matt. 

[chrisfaceoff]

I know we have some great depth at LB right now and it makes no sense, but I really don’t want to see Avery go. 
 

if you want to pull the injury card, I would have more faith in him being ready than CJ. I just think those 2 as a tandem could bring really great things. 

[jetstream23]

17 minutes ago, chrisfaceoff said:

I know we have some great depth at LB right now and it makes no sense, but I really don’t want to see Avery go. 
 

if you want to pull the injury card, I would have more faith in him being ready than CJ. I just think those 2 as a tandem could bring really great things. 

But $6.5M in Cap savings is halfway to what Robby Anderson or a similar WR will cost per year. Those $$ would be really useful. If Mosley will be healthy (and that may be a big if) then I would be okay seeing Williamson go.  Guys like Hewitt, Cashman, Burgess, etc. stepped up well last year. ILB proved to be a strength. 

[JTJet]

1 hour ago, Matt39 said:

I mean its just a fact the Jets are one of if not the least dedicated franchise to analytics and Douglas has made virtually zero additions to the football ops staff. But this time the Jets got it right! He's a football man! (who the Eagles were moving on from)

There was absolutely zero noise of the Eagles letting JD go at any point what so ever. In fact, everyone around the Eagles were sweating at the fact they may lose him, and they couldn't block him from an interview with any team. 

Curious where you got that idea other than out of thin air? Sources? 

[Matt39]

4 minutes ago, JTJet said:

There was absolutely zero noise of the Eagles letting JD go at any point what so ever. In fact, everyone around the Eagles were sweating at the fact they may lose him, and they couldn't block him from an interview with any team. 

Curious where you got that idea other than out of thin air? Sources? 

The Eagles hired Andrew Berry (who’s now the GM in Cleveland) in a role above Douglas last year- which was around the time Douglas getting the Jets job started to surface. Lombardi mentioned this months back right before the Jets hired him:

ADNAN VIRK: You’ve been so good with this Jets stuff. Obviously, you nailed the fact that [Mike] Maccagnan was in trouble prior to a lot of people thinking so — hint, hint, [Mike] Francesa. Any ideas where the Jets could be leaning here?

LOMBARDI: Everybody tells me it’s Joe Douglas. I mean, look, Joe Douglas — he’s going to have options. Well, Joe Douglas wants to leave Philly. I don’t think Joe Douglas is really that comfortable in Philadelphia in this current setup. The Eagles are going really extensively — they hired [former Browns executive] Andrew Berry. They’re going to go really with the analytics. 

 

[Greenseed4]

When I add up the cuts I get to $29.45M.

[Daddy Wang Doodle]

1 hour ago, NYJ1 said:

Relax, Francis. He'll get to having a press conference in due time.

[sec101row23]

At this point I would much rather have that $15 million in cap space than Bell.   

[Embrace the Suck]

14 hours ago, Daddy Wang Doodle said:

This is all great and what not, but when is Joe Douglas going to speak up and let us know his exact process and plan leading up to the draft? He needs to stop getting a pass and start making some changes to the analytics department and be more transparent. He's already on the hot seat

Since when do teams have press conferences about about every behind the scene hire that isn't a head coach, coordinator, or gm? Do you really expect him to tell you what he is going to do in the draft? Here's his plan "We're going to draft the best available players that fit the Jet mold", "We're going to stick to our board", "We'll see how the board shakes out". Well there you go... I'm sure others on the board can fill in anything I missed. Oh, and transparency, lmao.... When people who use that word what they really mean is "lie to me if you must, but tell me what I want to hear". Transparency, the new multi syllabic word people use to feel smart.

[bla bla bla]

13 hours ago, SR24 said:

Bring back Poole, keep Harrison. Can cut everyone else or let them hit free agency as far as I'm concerned! 

Agreed! Poole is who I want back. My biggest concern is the Quincy contract, I don't think he'll be able to pass a physical and we'll need to eat his 2020 salary.

[FidelioJet]

2 hours ago, sec101row23 said:

At this point I would much rather have that $15 million in cap space than Bell.   

Anybody that watched Bell this should have known this to be the case - 

I would like to think we could trade him but it's unlikely there will be much of a market.  I can't imagine he'll be on the Jets this year either though.  

Which leads me to - he's going to be cut.  

[Jetsfan80]

2 minutes ago, FidelioJet said:

Anybody that watched Bell this should have known this to be the case - 

I would like to think we could trade him but it's unlikely there will be much of a market.  I can't imagine he'll be on the Jets this year either though.  

Which leads me to - he's going to be cut.  

 

Nope.  That would result in $19M in dead money and no cap relief.

It's either trade ($9.5M cap savings) or keep.  And I can't imagine any team out there willing to take on his salary.  It was only us and the Colts competing for his services last year.  Why would anyone give up a pick to get him 1 year later, when they could have had him last offseason?

[Daddy Wang Doodle]

9 minutes ago, Embrace the Suck said:

Since when do teams have press conferences about about every behind the scene hire that isn't a head coach, coordinator, or gm? Do you really expect him to tell you what he is going to do in the draft? Here's his plan "We're going to draft the best available players that fit the Jet mold", "We're going to stick to our board", "We'll see how the board shakes out". Well there you go... I'm sure others on the board can fill in anything I missed. Oh, and transparency, lmao.... When people who use that word what they really mean is "lie to me if you must, but tell me what I want to hear". Transparency, the new multi syllabic word people use to feel smart.

Me thinks you missed the point. My post was facetious (nice multi syllabic word there) and scanning the thread would've seen who my original post was aimed at

[SR24]

3 minutes ago, FidelioJet said:

Anybody that watched Bell this should have known this to be the case - 

I would like to think we could trade him but it's unlikely there will be much of a market.  I can't imagine he'll be on the Jets this year either though.  

Which leads me to - he's going to be cut.  

Bells never been an explosive back though. He's a patient back that waits for a hole however our OL couldn't create holes and our stubborn HC waited until week 15 to start using Bell as a receiver. Also these leaks about Bell that keep coming out are starting to get stale, guy was nothing but class all season while constantly being let down by his coach and surrounding players. We can't criticize Bell for suffering from poor OL play, while using that same excuse to justify Sam's lack of production both players will greatly benefit from having a hopefully improved OL this year. 

[FidelioJet]

4 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

 

Nope.  That would result in $19M in dead money and no cap relief.

It's either trade ($9.5M cap savings) or keep.  And I can't imagine any team out there willing to take on his salary.  It was only us and the Colts competing for his services last year.  Why would anyone give up a pick to get him 1 year later, when they could have had him last offseason?

He's dead weight, a 4th round rookie will be more productive.   

By cutting him you're costing yourself $3.5mm in extra cap space the other $15mm you're paying anyway.

He'll be cut.

 

[Jetsfan80]

3 minutes ago, FidelioJet said:

He's dead weight, a 4th round rookie will be more productive.   

By cutting him you're costing yourself $3.5mm in extra cap space the other $15mm you're paying anyway.

He'll be cut.

 

 

So you want to pay him $19M (or $13M, depending on how the contract works) to NOT play for us?  That makes no business sense.  If JD cuts Bell then I have serious concerns about him moving forward.  We might as well see what Bell can do after improvements to the OL. 

We can still very easily use a 4th rounder on a RB.  Bell doesn't prevent that.  Cutting Bell would guarantee we force a 4th rounder into starting/significant touch duties, thus putting Sam at risk in the pass-blocking department.

[FidelioJet]

3 minutes ago, SR24 said:

Bells never been an explosive back though. He's a patient back that waits for a hole however our OL couldn't create holes and our stubborn HC waited until week 15 to start using Bell as a receiver. Also these leaks about Bell that keep coming out are starting to get stale, guy was nothing but class all season while constantly being let down by his coach and surrounding players. We can't criticize Bell for suffering from poor OL play, while using that same excuse to justify Sam's lack of production both players will greatly benefit from having a hopefully improved OL this year. 

exactly, so if you take away whatever explosiveness he had then he's downright slow.  Which is what he is now.

This whole idea that he was patient means he doesn't have to be fast is just silly.  He waited for holes then hit them with a quick first couple of steps - which is what made him so good.  

He lost that bit of explosiveness he had and now all waiting does is means he loses yards.  This isn't personal - he was, by all accounts, a good teammate, said all the right things etc....

but this happens to RB's all the time - they go from Great to below average almost over night - it's the nature of that position.