Jamien Sherwood‘s contract year will bring a considerable reward. The three-year backup-turned-C.J. Mosley fill-in has landed a high-end deal to stay with the Jets.
Gang Green will pay Sherwood $45MM over three years, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Sherwood will pull in $30MM guaranteed at signing. While the Jets could certainly have an issue with Quincy Williams at this point, due to the gap between the two LBs’ money, Sherwood is staying ahead of his age-25 season.
The Jets have Williams signed to only a three-year, $18MM deal. Williams, who has an All-Pro honor on his resume, is heading into a contract year now tied to less than half of what Sherwood is now making. It would stand to reason the Jets, who are expected to cut Mosley, will give Williams an update. Though, a new regime is making the calls now; that will be a storyline to monitor for Gang Green.
A former fifth-round pick, Sherwood capitalized on Mosley’s absence and led the NFL with 98 solo tackles. He made 158 stops overall and ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 18 off-ball linebacker. Sherwood had combined for only 77 tackles over his first three seasons, as Mosley and Williams formed one of the NFL’s top LB duos.
A Cinderella story of sorts formed behind them, as the player who had been an afterthought fetched a deal north of where Mosley was last season. The new Jets regime certainly liked what it saw in Sherwood’s first extended run of defensive playing time.
Sherwood and Nick Bolton are now tied as the NFL’s fourth-highest-paid ILBs, with each agreeing to terms today. Bolton has proven far more, as a four-year starter on a perennially sound defense, but Sherwood came on strong enough he generated considerable momentum ahead of free agency. Although the Patriots looked into Sherwood — who had possible landing spots with Jeff Ulbrich (Falcons) and Robert Saleh (49ers) — the Jets are keeping him off the market.
Good. Off-ball linebacker is so tough in today’s NFL. Worth holding onto a good young one, especially with Mosley near the end.