Gang Green has made another cap-cutting move a week before the start of free agency.
According to a source, the Jets will release tight end C.J. Uzomah after two seasons with the team. The move will save the Jets $5.3 million.
The Jets will now have over $25 million of salary cap space. Last week, they released left guard Laken Tomlinson after two seasons, which saved them $8.1 million.
In 2022, the Jets signed Uzomah and Tyler Conklin to lucrative contracts. Uzomah signed a three-year, $24 million contract hoping he could help bolster the Jets’ offense. Conklin signed a three-year, $21 million deal after spending his first four seasons with the Vikings.
The Jets thought they were getting the same Uzomah who caught 49 receptions for 493 yards and five touchdowns with the Bengals in 2021. However, his production slipped last two seasons.
Uzomah registered 21 receptions for 232 yards and two touchdowns in 2022. Last offseason, the Jets converted $4.5 million of Uzomah’s salary for 2023 into a signing bonus, which cleared $3.6 million in cap space.
Uzomah’s numbers continued to decrease in 2023 after ending the year with just eight catches for 58 yards and a touchdown after second-year player Jeremy Ruckert surpassed him on the Jets depth chart. During the Dec. 3 game against the Falcons, Uzomah tore his MCL and meniscus, which ended his season.
Meanwhile, Conklin has emerged as the Jets top tight end after averaging 60 receptions for 587 yards the last two seasons.
The Jets could be in the market for another tight end this offseason and some have speculated that they could draft Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the 10th overall selection in April’s NFL Draft.
After fielding one of the worst offenses in the NFL the last two seasons, a lot of pressure is on Jets head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas this offseason. Last April, the Jets acquired quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Packers. However, Rodgers played only four snaps in 2023 after tearing his Achilles during the Sept. 11 season opener against the Bills.
Without Rodgers, the Jets ranked 31st in yards (268.6) and 29th in points per game (15.8). Despite being third in total defense (292.3), the Jets finished 7-10 for the second consecutive year.
This led to Jets owner Woody Johnson voicing his frustrations at the NFL Honors awards show last month.
Beginning Monday, March 11, at 12 ET, NFL teams are allowed to contact the agents of unrestricted free agents and enter contract negotiations. The start of the new league will begin two days later on March 13 at 4 p.m. ET. That will be when unrestricted players can officially sign their new contracts.
The Jets are expected to be very active in what is a make-or-break year for both Saleh and Douglas.
“I mirror the frustration that Woody has,” Douglas told reporters last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Woody and I talk every day, just about every day and so we’re certainly on the same page. Again, I like the position we’re in.
“There’s a lot of talent coming back to this team, we have to add more to it. We know exactly what we have to do moving forward. The pressure is always intrinsic in his job whenever you walk in every day, but I can tell you that we’re not stressed.
“We’re prepared to answer the bell here with the decisions that have to be made moving forward. A lot of that has to do with the meetings that we had after the last time I talked to you guys and I feel really good about all of us, the personnel staff, coaching staff, analytics and everybody being on the same page.”
