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Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich found their pass-rusher.
The Jets agreed to terms with former Bengals DE Carl Lawson on a three-year, $45 million contract with $30 million in guaranteed, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Lawson’s deal can’t become official until the new league year begins on March 17 at 4 p.m. ET.
Edge rusher was arguably the biggest position of need for the Jets and Lawson fits the bill as the perfect player for Saleh and Ulbrich’s 4-3 defense. Lawson thrived in Cincinnati over the past four years with 20.5 total sacks in 51 games. He played exceptionally well this past season, too: Lawson finished second in quarterback hits with 32 and finished fourth among edge rushers with 64 pressures.
Lawson is exactly the type of defensive end the Jets need in their new defense. He’s big, fast, ferocious and should be a terror on the edge. He finished with an 84.9 pass-rush Pro Football Focus grade – ninth in the league – and can play the same role Dee Ford and Nick Bosa played in Saleh’s defense in San Francisco. Lawson isn’t much a run-defender with a 61.1 PFF grade, but the Jets won’t really need him to be in this defense. What the Jets need is a player who can consistently get to the quarterback, and Lawson fits that description.
Even better is his contract. The Jets will pay Lawson up to $15.83 million a year for three years. That’s a steal for a pass-rusher in today’s NFL. He’ll now play in a defense tailored to his strength, which should help him build on the skills he already had and the production he’s used to creating. Lawson, who will turn 26 in June, also fortifies a line already rife with young talent in Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers and Foley Fatukasi.
The Jets defense just got a whole lot better because of Lawson.