New York Jets clear $13.1M in cap space in preparation for Aaron Rodgers trade

The New York Jets have cleared $15.1 million in salary cap space after restructuring several contracts in anticipation of trading quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

It was announced Saturday that left guard Laken Tomlinson, cornerback DJ Reed and tight end Tyler Conklin have agreed to restructured deals to free up salary cap space.

Earlier in the week, New York also restructured tight end CJ Uzomah’s deal and also released backup wide receiver and return man Braxton Berrios in salary-cap saving moves.

In total, the transactions freed up more than $21 million in cap space, according to Cimini. The Jets now have $11.6 million in cap space before the start of the new league year on March 15, according to Over The Cap.

New York has been the only team linked to the Rodgers trade, and based on comments made by Packers team president Mark Murphy, it appears Green Bay would rather send Rodgers to the Jets, rather than see him return to play. another season on Green and Yellow. .

“It’s a situation where I think we wanted to help Aaron achieve what he wanted, as well as help the Packers,” Murphy said. “Hopefully, it will create a situation where it’s a win-win for both parties.”

While Murphy noted that discussions were still ongoing, he did talk about Rodgers’ Green Bay career in the past tense.

‘Very few players play for only one team. Brett [Favre] He had a great run here. Aaron had a great run here,’ he said.

New York recently sent a contingent to meet with Rodgers that included owner Woody Johnson, head coach Robert Saleh, general manager Joe Douglas and newly hired offensive coordinator Nathanil Hackett, who is a close friend of Rodgers.

After the meeting, Johnson was said to be “excited” about the prospect of adding the four-time MVP.

Most of the Jets locker room has reached out to Rodgers on social media in an attempt to convince him to come to New York, the most notable of which is star cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner.

Gardner had previously tweeted to Rodgers that if the future Hall of Fame quarterback joined the Jets, he would not and would pick him up in practice. burn cheese head.

Last night, Gardner and his teammates Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson went viral for burning a head of cheese in an attempt to lure Aaron Rodgers to New York.

After his shakeup, Tomlinson tweeted a meme to Rodgers from the Futurama cartoon that read “shut up and take my money.”