The higher-ups in the Jets front office do not want to bring Nick Mangold back at his current salary, a source tells Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Meanwhile, a second source says that the team has yet to approach the center about taking a pay cut. Typically, those conversations happen during the draft combine.
[RELATED: Jets Working To Re-Sign OT Ben Ijalana]
Mangold, 33, is scheduled to count $9.075MM against the salary cap in the final year of his deal but the team could theoretically clear all of that by cutting him. It remains to be seen how much of a pay slash the former Pro Bowler is willing to take. He’s scheduled to make $6.075MM, including a $2.4MM bonus due at training camp.
Mangold has been with the Jets since he was selected in the first round of the 2006 draft. From 2006 through 2015, he missed only four regular season games. This past season, a knee injury and nagging ankle issue limited him to only eight games. Despite the frustrations of 2016, Mangold is insistent that he wants to continue playing.
“I love football,” Mangold said in late December. “I miss it dearly. I’m planning on playing. I want to keep playing football, and I want to do it here.”
The feeling is presumably mutual, but Mangold will have to give up some cash in order to stay.