The Jets went 5-11 last season and their 2017 roster will look completely different. It won't necessarily be comprised of better players, but the group will definitely be younger and cheaper. Hours after it was reported that the team was parting ways with 33-year-old linebacker David Harris, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that wide receiver Eric Decker will be next in line for his pink slip. If the Jets can't trade him, they'll release him in the coming days.
Schefter adds that Decker is healthy after being medically cleared following offseason hip and shoulder surgeries.
Decker, originally a 2010 third-round pick of the Broncos, signed a five-year, $36 million deal with the Jets in March 2014. He appeared in 30 games in his first two seasons in New York, hauling in 154 catches for 1,989 yards and 17 touchdowns. But an injury-plagued 2016 season limited him to three games and nine catches. With a base salary of $7.25 million in 2017 and $7.5 million in 2018, trading or releasing Decker became an easy decision for the Jets.
The team drafted wideouts ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen and tight end Jordan Leggett last month, but a dearth of playmakers remains -- not only at wide receiver (where Quincy Enunwa is the only proven pass catcher) but up and down the roster, starting with quarterback, where the depth chart includes 38-year-old journeyman Josh McCown, 2016 second-round pick Christian Hackenberg and 2015 fourth-rounder Bryce Petty.
It's been a busy offseason for the Jets; in addition to the aforementioned pass catchers, they also drafted safeties in the first two rounds of the draft, shipped 2014 first-round pick Calvin Pryor out of town and released veterans Nick Mangold and Darrelle Revis this spring.
Depending what happens in 2017 could also determine whether Todd Bowles has a job next offseason.
