New York Jets General Manager Mike Maccagnan is expected to give Muhammad Wilkerson the franchise tag, but what will he do to free up cap space after that?
By Jeff Jarboe
Now, just nine days later, Super Bowl 50 is in the rear view and the 2016-17′ season is beginning.
VISIT ESNY’s New York Jets Team Center
Today marks the first day in which NFL teams are allowed to hand out the franchise tag designation to a player in the final year of his contract–teams have until 4 PM ET of Mar. 1 to hand out the tag before the player hits the open market–meaning in the next couple of weeks there are going to be a lot of top free agents who get taken off the open market before they even hit it.
It also means that after these teams slap their top player with the franchise tag, they’re going to have some roster moves to make to free up cap space for the upcoming free agency and draft periods.
With that being said, here are my predictions for New York Jets General Manager Mike Maccagnan’s first moves of the 2016 off-season:
1. Give DE Muhammad Wilkerson his estimated $15.5 million franchise tag.
Out of all the top free agents set to hit the open market, Wilkerson may be the most likely to receive the franchise tag (except perhaps the Super Bowl MVP, Von Miller). Despite suffering a broken leg in the final game of the season, Wilkerson’s value is clear–he was Gang Green’s best pass rusher once again in 2015, racking up a career-high 12 sacks, and at only 26 years old his best football is still ahead of him.
Franchising Wilkerson is a no-brainer. The question is how this team is going to move forward after they do so. Wilkerson’s tag is projected to be in the $15 million range, which would wipe out New York’s cap space and make it difficult for them to re-sign some of their other top free agents–Ryan Fitzpatrick, Damon Harrison, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell, to name a few.
Perhaps the bigger question mark surrounding the Wilkerson situation is whether he and Maccagnan will be able to agree on a long-term contract. They have until Jul. 15 to get a long-term deal done, and based on the way negotiations went last season both sides are likely to take it to the very end once again.
Depending on whether Maccagnan can free up enough cap space and re-work enough contracts to make a long-term contract for Mo Wilk financially possible, a tag-and-trade could be in play here. However, that wouldn’t happen for months and is a last resort.
Right now only one thing is for sure: Muhammad Wilkerson is going to receive the franchise tag some time between now and March 1.
2. Release CB Antonio Cromartie
I’ve read everything about Cromartie being one of Todd Bowles‘ favorite players and how he loved him in Arizona and yada yada yada…but after the season that Cromartie had last year, the Jets simply can’t keep this guy on the roster when they can gain $8 million in cap space by releasing him.
Cromartie’s only noteworthy accomplishment in 2015 came when it was announced that, after receiving a vasectomy, the 31-year-old father of eight impregnated his wife with twins. Maybe he should try baseball because he seems to be batting a thousand…
Though he had a rough year in 2015, I don’t think Cromartie’s football days are over. There are plenty of teams around the league who will be looking for depth at his position and again, he’s only 31 years old.
But the New York Jets are not one of these teams. If there’s one position group that the Jets have depth in it’s defensive back.
Darrelle Revis continues to hold down the number one spot (though he too suffered a bit of a down year in 2015), while Marcus Williams has emerged as a solid number two and Buster Skrine is outstanding in the slot. Not to mention youngsters Dexter McDougle and Dee Milliner are still under contract, both of whom figure to see increased playing time in 2016.
Expect Maccagnan to make the smart business move here and cut Cromartie. It simply makes the most sense.
3. Release RT Breno Giacomini
Another player who had a down year in 2015, Giacomini was a liability on the right side of the line all year long. He had glimpses of solid run blocking, but overall he was an extreme disappointment. Pro Football Focus ranked the second-year Jet 69th out of 76 total tackles in 2015.
Releasing Giacomini would free up $5.6 million in cap space for 2016, and it would open the door for New York to draft a long-term replacement.
It’s been years since New York spent a high draft pick on an offensive lineman. In fact, the last time the Jets spent a second-round pick or higher on an offensive lineman was in 2010 when Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan drafted Vladimir Ducasse in round two. The last time before that? 2006 when the team drafted Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson in the first round.
Mike Maccagnan’s inaugural draft class added youth on defense with selections like Leonard Williams and Lorenzo Mauldin. Now it’s time to add youth on the offensive line.
4. Re-structure D’Brickashaw Ferguson
Speaking of D’Brick, he’s 32 years old, heading into his 11th NFL season and is scheduled to earn $14.1 million in 2016. For a 32-year-old offensive lineman to earn this much money on an annual basis in today’s NFL, he better be in the top five at his position.
There was a time when Ferguson was a top five left tackle in the NFL, but that time has passed. In 2015, Ferguson ranked just seven spots higher than his fellow offensive tackle Giacomini, coming in at number 62 out of 76 total tackles.
Unlike Giacomini however, Ferguson is one of the leaders of this team and as a result, he’s earned the right to re-work his contract and retain a roster spot for at least one more season.
If the Jets can get D’Brick to cut his $14.1 million 2016 salary in half, they’d be gaining $7 million more in cap space to dedicate towards re-signing Fitzpatrick and Harrison, who are by far this team’s top priority free agents behind Muhammad Wilkerson.
Keeping a veteran leader like Ferguson on the roster for another year also gives whichever young offensive lineman this team drafts in April a mentor to learn from.
5. Re-structure David Harris‘ contract
Following D’Brick’s re-structure, expect Maccagnan to re-work the deal he gave David Harris last summer to free up some more cap space for priority free agents.
Even Harris must have known when Maccagnan gave him–a slow, 32-year-old linebacker–a 3-year/$21.5 million contract he was getting overpaid. The good news and bad news in Harris’ case is that $15 million of his $21.5 million is fully guaranteed, meaning that a.) New York should have no problem convincing him to take a lower salary for the upcoming season and b.) they still owe him at least $15 million over the next three seasons.
Like Ferguson, Harris was drafted by New York. He’s spent each one of his nine seasons in New York, and he’s one of the leaders on this team. He’s well aware of his team’s cap situation and well aware that there are key players who are on the verge of leaving New York to chase the money elsewhere (Harrison, Ivory/Powell).
With D’Brick’s re-structure, Cromartie and Giacomini’s release, and a pay cut in the $4 million-range for Harris, New York would have approximately $24.6 million in additional cap space–more than enough cap space to give Damon Harrison the deal he’s looking for, as well as locking up Ryan Fitzpatrick and one of Chris Ivory or Bilal Powell for another few years.
Spot on