Jets, Carl Lawson agree to reworked deal

The Jets will create $12.7M in cap space by reworking Lawson’s contract, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Previously due to a nonguaranteed $15M in base salary, Lawson will now be tied to a $9M paragraph 5 number. But $8M of the new total is guaranteed, Yates adds.

Although this represents a salary reduction, Lawson can make $3M back via incentives. The Jets signed the former Bengals fourth-rounder to a three-year, $45M deal in 2021. Thursday’s move bumps the Jets to nearly $19M in cap space.

This marks a bit of an interesting call, considering Lawson’s status as the Jets’ most proven edge rusher. The team’s D-line setup hinges on the seventh-year veteran, who anchors an edge group now featuring two recent first-round picks in Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald. Lawson finished with seven sacks last season, adding 24 quarterback hits in his first year back from a summer 2021 Achilles tear.

Robert Saleh indicated earlier this offseason Lawson’s status was secure, despite the $15.4M in cap savings the Jets would have collected by moving on a year early. Given Lawson’s production, he did not seem in danger of not earning the $15M in base pay — a number that would have been guaranteed once he landed on the Jets’ 53-man roster for Week 1 — but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes the Jets deemed the $15.7M cap number too high (Twitter link). Rather than push the team to an impasse, Lawson will collect come guaranteed dough early.

Lawson led Jets edge players in sacks last season, though Quinnen Williams‘ 12 paced the team overall. Lawson’s return made a considerable difference in the Jets vaulting from last defensively in 2021 to fourth place last year. The 27-year-old pass rusher has yet to produce a 10-plus-sack season as a pro, but he has compiled four seasons of at least 20 QB hits. He stands to be one of the top edges available in free agency next year, should the Jets not come back to the table regarding an extension before the 2024 legal tampering period begins.

Thursday’s move also lays some groundwork for Aaron Rodgers‘ expected restructure, one that will increase the future Hall of Famer’s 2023 cap number. The recently acquired quarterback is tied to just a $1.2M cap hit this year and a monstrous $107.6M number in 2024. The Packers restructured Rodgers’ deal on his way out, and Jets GM Joe Douglas was surprised by how that came to pass. The team will hope Rodgers comes back for a 20th season next year, but an obvious contract adjustment will need to take place before that happens.