From an underrated player on an elite defense, to a full-time starter, to captaincy, and now to his future being clouded. <\/p>\n
The path Jamien Sherwood has taken with the New York Jets has been quite the roller coaster. Originally a fifth-round pick out of Auburn, the former safety-turned-linebacker grew into one of the top up-and-coming players at his position<\/a>. <\/p>\n But after a contract extension that paid him among the best linebackers in the league, Sherwood delivered arguably his worst season as a pro. He was benched during the season for undisclosed reasons<\/a> and struggled mightily in pass coverage, once a strength for the athletic veteran.<\/p>\n Now, the organization is at a point of no return with Sherwood. His contract makes it hard for the Jets to do anything but hope for a rebound.<\/p>\n Sherwood is safe in Jets\u2019 linebacker room<\/p>\n Sherwood\u2019s numbers were not completely bad in 2025. He posted an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 65.6, placing 29th out of 64 qualified linebackers (min. 500 snaps). The 26-year-old put up good numbers as a run defender and blitzer.<\/p>\n However, Sherwood\u2019s coverage was a major liability. His 46.1 coverage grade at PFF ranked 48th out of 64 linebackers, and his 562 yards allowed ranked 56th.<\/p>\n Those are highly disappointing numbers for a player making $15 million per year, tied for the fifth-highest salary among linebackers.<\/p>\n New York can\u2019t exactly get out of Sherwood\u2019s contract. Over $15 million is guaranteed to him in 2026, and he carries a dead cap charge of $25 million should the Jets look to release him before June 1. A post-June 1 release lowers that dead money to $17 million, but there are no cap savings for the franchise in either scenario.<\/p>\n Things change in 2027, though. A pre-June 1 Sherwood release would clear $11.5 million in cap space with a $7.5 million dead charge.<\/p>\n