"Around the League" is taking a look at each team's salary-cap situation heading into training camp. Next up: The New York Jets.
Adjusted cap number: $130.071 million
Cap room remaining: $6.044 million
Best bargain: Sione Pouha remains one of the more productive interior defensive linemen in the league, posting 58 tackles, including five for a loss, in 2011. The Jets kept the 6-foot-4, 325-pound run-stuffer off the free agent market with a three-year, $15 million contract, which included $4.5 million in total compensation and a miniscule $2.166 million cap number in 2012. The 33-year-old is due $10.5 million over the last two seasons of the deal, though neither of those years are fully guaranteed.
Potential camp casualty: Bart Scott. While Scott remains part of a strong Jets' defense, the bottom line is that he is now a two-down linebacker, playing in less than two-thirds (64.82 percent) of the Jets' defensive snaps last season. Scott's 65 tackles were his lowest total since becoming a full-time starter. In a bit of a surprise considering his reduced role, Scott posted 4.5 sacks, the the second-highest total of his career and the equivalent to his sack totals in the four previous seasons combined. Scott can still play, and brings plenty of much-needed leadership to the table, but might need to reduce his $4.2 million salary to stick around.
Contract issue looming in 2013: Dustin Keller. The former first-round pick out of Purdue has posted career-highs in receptions and receiving yards in back-to-back seasons. His playing-time, and the Jets' post-season success has increased Keller's 2012 base salary by $2 million. Keller will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and could be a candidate for a franchise tag that is projected to be worth $5.555 million in 2013.
