New York Jets free up $2.5 million in cap space by restructuring CB Buster Skrine’s contract

The New York Jets are crunched for cash these days. Retaining star defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn’t cheap.

So the Jets are looking at any options to free up some precious cap room. On Friday, the Jets accomplished that by restructuring cornerback Buster Skrine’s contract, according to NJ.com’s Darryl Slater.

Slater reports the Jets have freed up about $2.5 million in cap room by converting his 2016 base salary into a signing bonus. The Jets gave Skrine a signing bonus of $3.75 million, reducing his base salary from $6.5 million to $2.75 million. Skrine’s cap hit is now $5.254 million, according to Slater.

Of course, what the Jets save in 2016 they’ll ultimately have to pay back over the final two seasons of Skrine’s contract, which expires in 2018. Skrine’s cap number the next two seasons will be $8 million. His dead money in 2017 will be $5 million and the figure will be $2.5 million in 2018.

Skrine is expected to play a versatile role in New York’s secondary. He will occasionally line up on the outside opposite Darrelle Revis, normally in base packages. But, Skrine also could move inside in New York’s nickel package. Skrine played most of the 2015 season in the slot when the Jets had Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Marcus Williams on the outside. Cromartie has since been released by the team and the unproven Williams struggled during the preseason.