Gang Green Nation
We start again
The New York Jets will be nearly starting from scratch in 2025, with a new management team and a new coaching staff. To make matters worse, Joe Douglas left behind a salary cap burden far worse than the messes of Mike Tannenbaum or Mike Maccagnan. Douglas’ relentless adding of voidable years, including the albatross contract of Aaron Rodgers, paints a bleak picture.
Having Mike Tannenbaum aid the Jets in a general manager search gives me reason for pause. Tannenbaum knows many of the top candidates, but he hasn’t been an NFL executive since 2018 after he left the Miami Dolphins. How much he really knows about all the candidates is questionable. He may be asking opinions from some NFL personnel people, so he will be relying on information from sources who may or may not have the Jets’ best interests in mind.
Mike Tannenbaum was the Jets’ salary cap specialist from 1997 through 2006. In 2006 he took over as Jets general manager. He then had the Jets near the limit of the salary cap until he was fired after the 2012 season. The Jets next general manager, John Idzik, spent most of his short tenure fixing the cap debacle Tannenbaum had made. Idzik rectified the cap situation, but he had no idea what NFL talent was, so his drafts left the Jets bereft of talent.
The Jets need a general manager who can fix the salary cap debacle like Idzik, but also one who understands talent without relying on a handful of scouts to tell him who to draft. There are many qualities the new general manager will need, including roster building, building the coaching staff, salary cap management, and scouting at both the college and NFL level.
What the new general manager will find:
Notable Contracts that remain for 2025
Alijah Vera-Tucker
One year at $15,313,000, all guaranteed
C.J. Mosley
$12,784,000/$16,434,0000 dead money if cut
Davante Adams
$29,977,999/$8,362,667 dead money if cut
This contract was never going to see the light of day. This will be a renegotiated contract which should be done quickly at a reduced rate. The Jets need a quality receiver, and Adams might find a cold market if he decides he’d rather be cut.
Tyrod Taylor
Taylor signed a two-year, $12 million contract with $8.5 million guaranteed. His cap number in 2025 is $6.8 million, with $5.7 million in dead cap space if cut before June 1st or $3.3 million dead cap after June 1st with $2.4 million in dead cap space in 2026.
Quincy Williams
$7,925,000/ $4,875,000 dead money if cut
Quinnen Williams
$21,650,000/ $41,341,000 dead money if cut
Cap hits of $26,650,000 in 2026 and $30,400,000 in 2027
Aaron Rodgers
$2.5 Million non-guaranteed contract plus $21 Million in prorated signing & option bonus
Rodgers is scheduled to make $2.5 million in base salary and $35 million in a roster bonus that must be exercised before the 2025 regular season. For the Jets, it’s a $23.5 million cap hit in...
