Nate Hairston was thrown into the Jets’ cornerback mess after a preseason trade with the Colts last year. However, Hairston struggled mightily in Gregg Williams’ defense, which led him toward the bench during the back half of the season despite New York sustaining multiple injuries at the position.

Hairston has one more year left on his rookie deal that he signed with Indianapolis. He got a salary bump of $1.4 million because he played a certain number of snaps last season. If the Jets keep him, he will count for $2.1 million against the cap. If they move on, they’ll save all of that money.

Joe Douglas needs as much money as possible to revamp this roster and Hairston didn’t exactly prove that he’s worth keeping. He played poorly on the outside and was on the sidelines for four of the last seven games of the season. The Jets need to clean out their cornerback room after last year’s performance and bring in players who can play the position well. It’ll be up to Douglas if Hairston should be part of that group next season.

Pros of keeping him

If the Jets want to have some depth at cornerback, then keeping Hairston wouldn’t be such a bad idea. In 11 games, Hairston recorded 21 tackles, three pass defenses and an interception. He flashed some raw talent at times and was strong at finding the football.

Since Hairston was acquired in the preseason, he didn’t get much time to learn Williams’ system. Williams proved last season that if you give him time to work with a cornerback, he can make them better. That could be the case with Hairston with a full offseason. Given that and his cheap contract, Hairston has a chance to stick as a depth piece in case of any injuries.

Pros of cutting him

The Jets can’t wait much longer for Hairston to figure it out. He’s a fourth-year player out of Temple who has already been traded once. The Jets can add more depth pieces via the draft or free agency who are more talented than Hairston at this stage of his career.

Hairston does come on the cheap, but the fact that many other cornerbacks on the roster last season jumped him on the depth chart shows some red flags. The Jets can use his money to upgrade the cornerback position or another position on the roster.

The verdict

Given how much playing time Hairston lost at the end of the season, all signs point toward his release. The Jets need to clean house with their cornerbacks and Hairston should be included. Williams is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league, but his powers don’t work on everybody and it certainly didn’t work with Hairston.

If Douglas chooses to keep Hairston, he’ll be buried at the bottom of the depth chart fighting for a backup spot. But Douglas would be wise to move on from him and see what else he can find.