Potential Jets Cap Cut: Brian Winters

We continue our series looking at potential Jets cap cuts this offseason with Brian Winters.

Cap charge if on the team in 2020: $7.28 million

Cap savings if cut: $7.28 million ($0 in dead money)

Why cutting Winters would make sense: The offensive line was the biggest and most important weakness on the Jets roster in 2019. It negatively impacted both the run game and Sam Darnold. The Jets will need to prioritize which spots on the offensive line they want to upgrade, but right guard seems like a spot that needs a big infusion of talent.

Winters has been a below average guard for most of his career who has struggled to deal with strong interior linemen. Winters’ contract remains above median for starting right guards, but he is a subpar starter. He also has ended four of his seven NFL seasons on injured reserve.

Why cutting Winters wouldn’t make sense: While Winters is an underwhelming starter, he still is a cut above the type of player the Jets could sign off the street. Offensive line play in general in the NFL is going through a rough stretch. Teams are having a difficult time finding and developing quality offensive linemen. That means Winters does have some degree of value, even if he is a deeply flawed player.

What do you think?