By signing All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis Tuesday, the New York Jets immediately slashed their salary cap space almost in half. But while it’s hard to argue that reacquiring Revis — the Jets’ first-round draft pick in 2007 — doesn’t vastly improve the Jets defense, any NFL expert will testify that rebuilding a team must begin with the quarterback — who in turn, needs receivers to catch his passes.
Do they Jets have any chance of making upgrades to their offense, now that they have allocated a reported $16 million to Revis in 2015 alone? Here is how the New York Jets salary cap situation shapes up, after the Revis signing, according in part to an analysis by NJ.com .
Not surprisingly, Revis is now responsible for the single biggest piece of the New York Jets’ salary cap, with that $16 million figure. While it doesn’t affect the team immediately, Revis will also consume $17 million of cap space the following year and $15 million the year after that.
After Revis, the Jets’ biggest cap hit comes from three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman D’Brickashaw Ferguson, a 31-year-old 300-pounder who was the Jets top draft pick the year before they selected Revis. Ferguson will make $11.698 million in 2015.
By pink-slipping wide receiver Percy Harvin Tuesday, the Jets opened up $10.5 million more salary cap space to work with. But New York also acquired Brandon Marshall in a trade with the Chicago Bears. The Jets gave up nothing but a fifth-round draft pick for the talented but well-traveled receiver — who now joins his fourth team in nine NFL seasons — so they must absorb the full impact of his $7.7 million contract.
The Jets also averted free agency for linebacker David Harris, lavishing him with a two-year deal for $15 million in guaranteed cash. His cap hit in 2015 counts for another $7.5 million. So with those two strokes of the pen, the Jets more than spent their savings from cutting Harvin.
And yet, according to the Over The Cap website , the New York Jets still have the ninth-most financial flexibility in the NFL, with $26,091,474 in salary cap room left to move with.
They attempted to address their desperate need at the quarterback position by bringing in veteran journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick from the Houston Texans, where he is coming off a career year with a 95.3 passer rating in 12 games. And Fitzpatrick will cost the Jets just $3.25 million against the salary cap.
With rumors that the New York Jets are seeking to bring back another of their former cornerbacks, Antonio Cromartie, as a free agent, who was making $9.5 million when the Jets cut him two years ago and will likely cost significantly more than that now, the Jets salary cap situation would suddenly look tight, leaving how they address the offensive woes that left them with a dismal 4-12 season as an open question at best. And impossible at worst.
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