New York Jets updated salary cap situation

new york jets, robert saleh, joe douglas
Head coach Robert Saleh at practice during Jet Fan Fest that took place at the 2022 New York Jets Training Camp in Florham Park, NJ on July 30, 2022. Jet Fan Fest Took Place At The 2022 New York Jets Training Camp In Florham Park Nj On July 30 2022

One topic of conversation for New York Jets fans entering a monumental 2023 offseason has been the state of the team’s salary cap space.

After two consecutive offseasons of big spending, the team is in a much different space financially. For the first time since Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh have been managing this football team, the Jets will not be able to just go out in free agency and pay whoever they would like.

Over The Cap recently shared their up-to-date salary cap space for every team in the league. Safe to say, the Jets have some tough decisions to make.

Current salary cap space for the New York Jets:

The projected salary cap for the 2023 NFL season is set at $225 million. For the Jets, that budget increased to a little over $228 million thanks to the $3 million in cap space they had from 2022 that carried over.

With that total budget of $228 million that the Jets have to work with and having $230 million in commitments, it means that the Jets are over the budget by $2.4 million. Between releases and possibly restructures, the Jets have loads of work to do.

With an obvious need for a quarterback, major concerns across the offensive line, questions at safety, not to mention extending Quinnen Williams and many important free agents of their own, Douglas and Saleh will have to get creative to address everything.

In terms of release-worthy players, a few worth noting are Carl Lawson ($15.4 M), Duane Brown ($4.9 M), Corey Davis ($10.5 M), and Braxton Berrios ($5 M). In total, a potential $35.8 million that the Jets could free up.

When it comes to possible contract restructures, C.J. Mosley and John Frankin-Myers are two players who could re-do their deals. First, both players are under contract beyond 2023. Mosley has an astronomical cap hit of $21.4 M, and lowering it would remove some financial stress. Franklin-Myers, with his very low prorated bonus amount of $400K and three years remaining on his contract, is a more than logical route for the Jets to go in terms of restructuring deals.

The final point worth mentioning is that Douglas and Saleh have an abundance of money available in 2024. At the moment, the Jets have $112 million in cap space, which affords them a few different luxuries. They can backload any free agent additions this offseason with big signing bonuses, similar to the contract structures they gave virtually free agent signing last offseason. Also, it makes restructures for players like Franklin-Myers and Mosley that much more feasible.

The Jets are gearing up for a pivotal offseason, now the third of the Douglas and Saleh era. Getting the salary cap space in a better state will be the first step in being able to improve this roster with playoff expectations going into next year.