The New York Jets’ “fire sale” may not be complete. After moving on from the likes of Nick Mangold, Brandon Marshall, Darrelle Revis and Ryan Clady earlier in the offseason, one more starter might be on the chopping block.
According to Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News, the Jets may end up releasing Eric Decker before the start of the 2017 season.
“Decker isn’t healthy yet, so it’d be hard to trade him in the next few weeks. Don’t be surprised if the veteran wide receiver isn’t on the roster this season,” the Jets beat writer reported.
He makes a good point here in that Decker missed all but three games last season after undergoing surgeries on an injured hip and rotator cuff. If he’s not healthy, the Jets won’t be able to trade him.
That still opens up the possibility that New York could release the veteran. Decker, 30, is set to count $8.8 million against the cap in 2017 with a $3 million dead cap hit. He doesn’t fit into the team’s long-term rebuilding project. Moving on from him makes perfect sense.
In his first two full seasons with the Jets prior to last year’s injury-plagued stretch, Decker recorded nearly 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns.