At the end of the day, everybody always pays. It’s just a matter of when.

In the case of the New York Jets’ salary cap situation, the chickens have come home to roost. Four player contracts are set to hit void status on Feb. 13, 2026, compiling a grand total of $13.375 million in dead cap, according to Spotrac.

The contracts of four #Jets players are set to void today, leaving behind a combined $13.375M of dead cap for the upcoming season.

S Andre Cisco
LB Quincy Williams
QB Tyrod Taylor
G John Simpson

— Spotrac (@spotrac) February 13, 2026

Linebacker Quincy Williams ($4.875 million in dead cap), guard John Simpson ($2.1 million), safety Andre Cisco ($4 million), and quarterback Tyrod Taylor ($2.4 million) are the four players whose contracts are set to be voided on Friday. There was little general manager Darren Mougey could do about it.

Void years in the NFL are akin to kicking the can down the road. They can be added to the end of a contract for guaranteed money, stretching it out to a total of five years (minus the remaining years on the contract).

The primary way the Jets could have avoided $13.375 million in dead cap is by renegotiating these contracts. Other less common avenues exist in the voided contract space — such as an extension, post-June 1 designation, retirement, etc. — but New York reached the end of the line in these cases.

It was unlikely that Mougey and company could have wisely avoided Friday’s reality.

For Williams, 29, the feeling that he would not return to the team in 2026 has remained consistent for some time. Thanks to the Jets’ free-agent deal with Jamien Sherwood last offseason, coupled with the poor linebacker production this past season, a Williams departure was always the leader in the clubhouse.

Taylor will be 37 in August. The longtime veteran backup quarterback has been with the Jets for two seasons, and his professional football future is very much still in the air.

Cisco, 25, turned out to be a major disappointment after signing with the Jets last free agency period. Although his one-year, $8.5 million deal feels manageable, $7.5 million of it is guaranteed (with four voided years, 2026-2029).

Simpson, 28, came to Florham Park, N.J., in 2024, on a two-year, $12-million deal with $6 million guaranteed. With the Jets’ offensive line improving significantly in 2025, Simpson’s future with the Jets has also stood on shaky ground for the last several months.

NFL free agency officially begins on Wednesday, March 11, at 4:00 p.m. ET. Darren Mougey and the New York Jets can get the communication process rolling two days prior, when the legal tampering period commences on Monday, March 9, at 12:00 p.m. ET.