Jets guard Alex Lewis has agreed to take less money this year, with hopes that he can make it up next year.
Lewis agreed to reduce his base salary from $5.8 million to $3 million for the 2021 season, Field Yates of ESPN reports. The deal will eliminate the 2022 season from Lewis’s contract, so he’ll hit unrestricted free agency in March and have the chance to shop himself to the highest bidder, with a higher salary cap than the NFL has this year.
Realistically, Lewis likely didn’t have much choice in the matter, and figured that he was going to have a hard time getting even $3 million this year if the Jets cut him.
Lewis will be competing for one of the two starting guard jobs. The Jets believe they upgraded the position when they traded up for rookie Alijah Vera-Tucker in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.