Salary cap analysis: How much do the New York Jets save by cutting Trumaine Johnson?
The New York Jets are set to release Trumaine Johnson, a move that really doesn’t do much to help them clear space under the salary cap.
According to multiple reports, the Jets are set to cut the ineffective Johnson. Signed in 2018 to a five-year, $72.5 million deal by then general manager Mike Maccagnan, the Jets now seem set to cut their losses on Johnson. The oft-injured cornerback played in only 17 games the last two seasons, proving to be ineffective when he was healthy and able to play.
Johnson was set to be a $15 million cap hit if he was on the Jets roster for 2020 and is a $12 million dead cap hit if released. The team doesn’t clear much money with the move, about $3 million.
All told, the Jets will now have $52 million in salary cap space heading into free agency once Johnson comes off the books.
The genesis behind the move to release Johnson is, according to salary cap expert Jason Fitzgerald, that “the overpayment is way too much” given the limited returns.
“It’s pretty much a no brainer. It really doesn’t create a lot of cap room for him, I think about $3 million,” Fitzgerald said.
“It wasn’t a good signing when they did it, no one expected it to be this bad. It was probably one of the worst signings the Jets have made against the salary cap ever. And that is covering a lot of ground.”
Fitzgerald is the founder of OverTheCap.com and is an expert in the NFL’s salary cap and contract structuring. He also consults with a number of agents on contract and cap issues.
He said that the decision to cut Johnson is less about the cap savings and simply more about cutting dead weight. Johnson underwhelmed from the start under former head coach Todd Bowles and then this past season with first-year head coach Adam Gase.
“Sometimes, I think you just know it is a bad marriage and you are better getting someone out of the locker room. I don’t think he fit in the organization with Bowles, wasn’t a fit with Gase. There wasn’t a fit for him,” Fitzgerald said.
“I think you just bite the bullet on it and say ‘Bad on us’ and hope it doesn’t happen again.”
