Jets Cap for 2006

2006 Jets Salary Cap Page

From the Jets Blog:

Jets 2006 Salary Cap Q&A

Caveat: I'll try to answer your questions, but understand I have no inside knowledge of the organization and these are purely my opinion.

Looking at the cap for the Jets.... what players are they pretty much bound to get rid of?

I think that Fabini and Kendall are on the fence, depending on who we draft. If we take a OL, then one of them is most likely gone. Ty Law is a goner. Fiedler doesn't figure into the plans most likely, they wouldn't want 2 QB's coming off shoulder surgery. Abraham at this point may be gone. Woody is reluctant to give him a big payday after being burned by Pennington. At this point Mawae should be back but monitor his status as he recovers

Looking at the cap for the Jets... what players are they bound to keep (handcuffed to), due to their contracts?

Pennington is the big one. I would expect after the season the organization will sit down with him and try to restructure his contract. Chad is a standup guy and he may do it, but he is not bound to it. His cap hit in 2006 is already at $12 Million. If they cut him it will cost about the same, but will have to find a replacement and still pay the new QB and take the $12 Million hit. Curtis Martin is the other, he is due about $8 Million, but don't be surprised if he takes a pay cut as well. He will most likely split time with a rookie next year.It's pretty much a certainty that the Jets will cut Law...

How will the Law dump work exactly? I guess they would cut him before March, but how much will they owe him?

They owe him nothing. He is due a bonus somewhere around $11 Million, but there is no way he ever sees that. He did take a $3 Million signing bonus this year, so we will take a small hit on that. They will simply cut him before the bonus is due.Which of the season opening starters on the O-Line who can they afford keep? (Fabini, Kendall, Mawae, Moore, Jones)
They can afford to keep them all, however performance and not money willbe the deciding factor here, along with the draft.

Based on pay, who is more likely to be cut? Cedric Houston or Derrick Blaylock?

Neither they'll both be back.

If the Jets end up with a top 5 pick, about how much room on the capwill they have to slot for a pick like that?

Depends on the position. QB's are generally given more $$, however I don't believe they will draft Leinart. They don't want to put that much money in one position. The NFL uses a 'rookie pool of dollars', which basically tells each team how much they can spend on all their rookies, drafted and undrafted. It is derived from the # of picks they have, their draft position, and other factors. I have no idea how it works and neither do most club officials. The pool is generally between $2 Million and $6 Million.