Rich CiminiReading: 3 min.
The Jets traded a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Ravens in exchange for safety
FLORHAM PARK, NJ — While waiting to hear from the quarterback Aaron Rodgers about a possible exchange, the New York Jets They continue to work on their template.
On Thursday, they agreed to acquire safety Chuck Clark of the Baltimore Ravens and they released the wide receiver Braxton Berrios to free up salary cap space, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Los Jets traded a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Ravens in exchange of Chuck Clark, a longtime starter who will add experience to the secondary of an already solid defense. The trade won’t become official until March 15, the start of the league year.
Chuck Clarkwho turns 28 on April 19, spent six years with the Ravens, the last four as a starter. He became expendable because they signed Marcus Williams as a free agent and recruited Kyle Hamilton in the first round last offseason.
The safeties were considered the weakest area of the Jets’ defense, which ranked fourth in yards allowed. Jordan Whitehead y Lamarcus Joyner, pending free agent, were the headlines. They are likely to release Joyner unless it’s to Whiteheadwho has a salary cap of $10.2 for the final year of his contract.
The contract of Clarkentering his final season, is salary-cap friendly: $2.5 million base, to be inherited by the Jets. Clark he has a $1.6 million bond due March 19, bringing his cap charge to $4.1 million.
It was expected that Ravens let go of Clark because the team will move Hamilton, the 14th pick from last year, to the starting spot for Clark. Baltimore he also desperately needed to free up salary cap space. By exchanging to Clark, Baltimore created $3.64 million in space. The Ravens they need to release about $6 million more by March 15 to get the non-exclusive franchise tag from Lamar Jackson ($32 million) under the cap.
Baltimore tried to redeem Clark last year, but was unsuccessful. A sixth round pick in 2017, Chuck Clark He has been a reliable player and an admirable leader, starting the last 60 games of Baltimore.
In his last three seasons as a full-time starter, Clark recorded 274 tackles, which ranked behind only the supportedr Patrick Queen (320) in the Ravens. During that span, Clark he was the only Baltimore player with multiple forced fumbles, interceptions, and defensive touchdowns.
The movement of Berrios It wasn’t a surprise, since he was supposed to count $8.2 million in the salary cap. The Jets they’ll receive a $5 million salary-cap savings when the move becomes official next week, which means they’ll be stuck with $3.2 million in dead money.
The agent of Berrios and the Jets they discussed a possible restructuring, but the two parties were unable to reach an agreement.
A year ago, the Jets made Braxton Berrios a top priority, re-signing him to a two-year, $12 million contract after one year of career. In 2021, he was named to the All-Pro first team as a kick returner. He caught 46 passes for 431 yards, both career highs, but his production dropped off dramatically in 2022.
Braxton Berrios he saw a decrease in playing time last season and his production dropped to 18 receptions for 145 yards. We can say that BerriosThe sure-handed player had the biggest mistake of the season, failing to secure a fourth-down pass in the end zone in the final minutes of a 27-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on December 4.
Los Jets They still have depth at the wide receiver position, with Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore y Corey Davis under contract. Davis could also be a salary cap drop.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.
