The New York Jets are tight on salary cap space with a lot of free agents that are seeking a return in 2016. While the team showed a lot of improvement and potential under head coach Todd Bowles in his first year with the team, repeating that will take a lot of creativity financially as the Jets have their work cut out for them this offseason. With a franchise tag to spare, which players will stay and which will leave come the start of the offseason?
The Jets have work to do. Players like Ryan Fitzpatrick and Muhammad Wilkerson are looking to cash on their worth while starting running backs Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell are fighting for a new deal as well. That has put the Jets in an interesting spot. According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, the Jets will first pick which players to release at the start of free agency. Antonio Cromartie, Dee Milliner, Jeremy Kerley and D'Brickashaw Ferguson are all on the chopping block according to Costello. Releasing them could potentially clear up to around $30 million in cap space allowing the Jets some flexibility to make other moves.
According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, re-signing Fitzpatrick will be the first priority in order to eliminate future headaches for the team heading into the NFL Draft. While the Jets have talked to players like Carson Wentz and Jake Coker, general manager Mike Maccagnan would prefer to re-sign the veteran and let him be the short-term answer. The Jets are in win-now mode and Fitzpatrick helps in that effort. Damon Harrison could also earn a contract extension while Wilkerson gets a franchise tag. Wilkerson is currently healing from a broken leg which could impact contract talks with other teams. The Jets could eliminate issues with the franchise tag.
The biggest question mark for the Jets is the running back position. Cimini reports that Ivory will be aiming to cash in come free agency while Powell would prefer to return as well. Add in the expiring contract to Stevan Ridley and the Jets only have Zach Stacy returning. New York has been linked to names like Matt Forte, Lamar Miller and Alfred Morris, but Ivory holds the same talent level and price tag. They could just simply bring him back.
Maccagnan is aware that this offseason will require some creativity. Bringing back the same team in 2016 will not be easy nor will it be entirely possible. He is hopeful that the team can work out the best plan moving forward.
"There's not a perfect answer to it, but what you're trying to do is you're trying to maximize your opportunity cost, so that's where as we go through this, we're going through all these different scenarios of how we're going to attack free agency," Maccagnan said, via the Post. "The main goal is to keep as much of it in place on our team as we can, but the way free agency works itself out, eventually when players hit the market, you can't determine where sometimes guys are going to be paid and you may have a certain point where you feel like that's a little above where you want to pay."
