On Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Jets had released Brian Winters.
Winters has started 79 games for the Jets since 2013 after being drafted in the third round out of Kent St. As Schefter says in his tweet, the move is considered a surprise.
A surprise release: Jets are cutting last season’s starting right guard Brian Winters, per source.
As a starting guard, Winters is not expected to be without a job very long.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 2, 2020
Could the Vikings be a possible landing spot for Winters?
Right now, Pat Elflein and Dakota Dozier will probably be the starters at guard for the Vikings. If rookie Ezra Cleveland were to win the left tackle job, we could see Riley Reiff move to one of the guard spots.
Even so, it seems like Winters could help this team.
Last season, Winters finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 62.4 which ranked 41st in the NFL. That ranked one spot above Elflein and 28 spots ahead of Dozier.
Of course, the Jets are not a good team so it’s a bit suspect when a not good team releases a player who we think might be good. Or maybe it’s just the Jets being the Jets.
Per Over The Cap, the Vikings have $14.2 million in cap space for the 2020 season.
Winters was due $7.28 million in 2020. The Jets did not have to pay a penalty for the move, per Spotrac.