It does tell us anything other than the Jets were willing to throw Sanchez to the curb if they got a better QB. I am guessing the Jets expected Manning's cap hit would be about the same as the cap hit they saved by cutting or trading Sanchez.
If Jason is lurking he can speak better to this, but prior to his renegotiation for PR of the Jets losing out on Peyton Manning Sanchez had something like a $8-10 million base salary this year. It is reported that the Broncos cap hit for Manning is about $13 million. We don't know how much the Jets were willing to pay Manning, but there is a good chance that the money saved by cutting or trading Sanchez vs. the cap would cover most or all Manning's cap hit (at least what they were expected to pay for him) at least this year if the Jets signed him.
Now if the Jets were to sign Manning and keep Sanchez, you might have a point. But there is no way they would pay a back up what they were planning to pay Sanchez and it is doubtful Sanchez would be willing to take a pay cut to back QB money. So trading Sanchez's cap space for Manning's cap space doesn't indicate they weren't restricted with the cap.
I think the Jets would have had to get creative in signing Manning and would have needed have the league ok the offer sheet. Essentially Manning could have been signed to an incentive laden contract that was all virtually guaranteed since he did not play last season (i.e. 100 yards passing in 2012 would equal a $20 million bonus or trigger a $20 million dollar guaranteed escalator in 2013) that would count for the minimum against this years cap since it would all be considered NLTBE.
Before they inexplicably re-upped Sanchez his cap hit would have been around $14.2 million in 2012. Had they cut him they would have saved $9 million and carried about $5 million in dead money. He could have also been given the June 1 treatment but that would not have given them immediate cap relief since the June 1 savings dont take effect until June. They ended up saving $6.4 million with the renegotiation. Peytons cap hit this season is $18 million so it would have been impossible to field the roster they have now minus Sanchez and Tebow and get him in there. They would have had to get cap relief elsewhere to do it, though there are plenty of ways they could have saved some cash.
The Jets arent as bad off as ESPN makes them out to be, which most people have all pointed out in this thread. The only other recent teams to really be in bad cap shape besides Oakland were the Steelers this year and Cowboys last season I believe. Both teams had to do massive restructurings and extensions just to comply, which is far different than cutting an old Bart Scott that has a limited role as is. I think the higher spending teams, like the Jets, were hurt more than they thought with the new CBA. They got lucky to get out of a few deals before the lockout which allowed them to re-sign Cromartie, but these teams all budgeted on a cap that was growing between 5 and 7 million a year. To bring the cap back to essentially 2008 levels in 2012 is a crushing blow to those teams.
Ive always maintained that the Jets window when they started spending was from 2008-2010 and still believe it. The team came really close and part of me says that they made a mistake not begging Favre to come back in 2009 or finding a veteran rather than rebuilding behind a young QB despite having a team that had good players on defense and a fantastic offensive line. They tried to band aid last year together and get one more season out of it and they failed badly.
I see them this year in a holding pattern with the moves they made. Tebow is a publicity stunt to mask the issues they may have during the year, but hes cheap so it was the best they could do. They didnt want to commit to any frontline starters other than Manning, which is the prudent choice. You dont add more expensive veterans to a veteran club that has a nearly closed window. That can totally ruin a team when/if the window totally shuts.
Rob Im not sure if it was you that said it in this thread, but whomever it was is 100% correct that the Jets problem isnt so much cap management but talent evaluation. The reason the Jets could spend so much in free agency was because Ferguson, Mangold, Harris, Revis, Washington, Smith, etc.. all worked out in some manner as draft picks. 4 were rock solid picks and the others contributors that you need to win. You can spend $8 million a year on Alan Faneca because Mangold costs you all of $2 million on that rookie deal.
But since then its whiff after whiff in the draft. Eventually the Fergusons of the world become rich and when they do you have to eliminate a free agent signing unless you draft another hit rookie. They havent. Most of the guys wouldnt pick up with another club. There is nothing wrong with the cap moves they have made or how the structured the deals for the most part. The problem is how did they get so many wrong at once. How do you not see what a problem Holmes might become? How do you not see that Wayne Hunter isnt a quality NFL player? Thats the issue not the contract structure itself, but everyone focuses on that cap number, which is easily changed.
I think the Jets are going to be active shoppers next offseason. Id imagine they will field offers for Sanchez, Holmes, and Cromartie. They wont get much but they will get big time cap relief if they can trade those players. I even think if the right offer for Harris came around they would take it since Im not sure he is fast enough to play in the 43 they will be running by next season. Of course it depends on what happens this year, but in the back of their mind I think they have the 4 guys that they want to cut and then a few that they will be looking to trade so that they can go and start to try to change the mix of players on the team.
