Jets take three major steps toward keeping a key part of their foundation together for the next couple of years
The New York Jets’ home run draft of 2022 is going to be around for at least a little bit longer. The New York Jets have picked up the fifth-year options on cornerback Sauce Gardner, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and defensive end Jermaine Johnson. All three were first round picks for the Jets back in […]
The New York Jets’ home run draft of 2022 is going to be around for at least a little bit longer.
The New York Jets have picked up the fifth-year options on cornerback Sauce Gardner, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and defensive end Jermaine Johnson. All three were first round picks for the Jets back in 2022.
All three moves were expected as all three players have lived up to or exceeded expectations from when they were drafted.
In the NFL, the fifth-year option is a team option that allows teams to extend the contract of a player drafted in the first round for an additional season. This option is exercised before the player's fourth season, extending their contract for a total of five years, instead of the standard four-year rookie deal.
Sauce’s fifth year option is worth $20.1 million. Wilson’s is slated for $16.8 million, and Jermaine Johnson’s is set at $13.4 million. All three salaries are fully guaranteed for the 2026 season and all three are fully against the cap.
Picking up the fifth-year options was the easy part for new GM Darren Mougey. Now comes the hard part: keeping all three in New York past 2026.
Both Mougey and Glenn have said that they intend to work on extensions for the three players, but until anything is signed, nothing is certain. After the 2026 season, all three players could become free agents. There is still a path to team friendly deals for all three players.
With $50.3 million due to hit the cap in 2026 thanks to the three fifth-year options being picked up, it would be beneficial to Mougey to get a long-term extension done with the players so they can spread the money out over the long term. That would be like what the Houston Texans did with Derek Stingley Jr.
This is why selecting a player in the first round is much more important than selecting them in any other round. Breece Hall, who was selected in the second round of that same 2022 draft is not eligible for a fifth-year option and therefore is technically under contract for 2025. The Jets could extend Hall, or put a franchise tag on him, but other than that, Hall will be an unrestricted free agent.
For now, the Jets have three foundational pieces on the roster through 2026. Hopefully they can add more pieces as the team gets set for the draft in a few days.
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