When Jabari Zuniga arrives for Jets training camp on Tuesday, he’ll officially be a member of the team.
The Jets announced Monday that Zuniga has signed his rookie contract. The deal is for four years and just under $5 million. Mekhi Becton is now the lone Jets rookie that remains unsigned.
New York picked Zuniga out of Florida in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was one of two players picked by the Jets out of the University of Florida. The other was running back La’Mical Perine.
At Florida, Zuniga recorded 18.5 sacks in 39 games. He also had 116 total tackles (33 for loss), one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. Zuniga’s senior year was limited to five games due to a high ankle sprain.
The Jets view Zuniga as a guy who can bring pressure off the edge with both his speed and strength. He ran a solid 40-yard dash at 4.64 seconds and did well in the bench press, putting up 29 reps at the NFL Combine back in February.
At the moment, Zuniga will be a backup defensive end. Based on what we saw in Gregg Williams’ defense last year, though, Zuniga should find his way rotating in and out of the lineup. If he has an impressive training camp, he could see plenty of snaps come the regular season.