The Jets saved some money on Avery Williamson’s contract, and they did it without having to cut the linebacker.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Williamson agreed to a restructured deal worth $3.5 million with $1 million guaranteed. The contract can reach $5 million with incentives. Originally, Williamson’s 2020 base salary was worth $6.5 million.
The move saves the Jets $3.75 million in cap space. They had $31.5 million in cap space prior to the restructure.
Williamson just recently returned to practice and is primarily working with the second-team defense alongside James Burgess. He’ll see a few snaps here and there with the first-team defense, but the Jets seem to like the pairing of him and Burgess.
The 28-year-old linebacker is coming off a torn ACL that he suffered last preseason. Entering training camp, the expectation was that Williamson was going to be a cap casualty given the Jets’ depth at inside linebacker. However, when C.J. Mosley opted out due to COVID-19 concerns, it gave the Jets more of an incentive to keep Williamson.
Before the injury, Williamson was coming off the best season of his career in 2018. He recorded 116 total tackles, six pass breakups, three sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception in 16 games.
It remains to be seen what Williamson’s role will be with the Jets in 2020, but if he can produce even a fraction of those numbers, New York will gladly take that at a reduced cost.