The New York Jets will be looking to make some significant improvements on both sides of the ball this offseason after a disappointing 2021 season. One of the best ways to improve for the Jets could be addition by subtraction, and there are a few candidates who could be surprise cuts this offseason. With the Jets having been at the bottom of the league for far too long, head coach Robert Saleh will look to get them back to at least a semi-competitive level in 2022.

With two picks in the first round of the upcoming draft, the Jets will need to make room for their new young talent in order to aid their development, while also offloading some veterans who haven't been playing up to their price tag. The Jets will have ample cap space this offseason to make some big splashes, so there could be some significant overhaul. After a horrendous season defensively in 2022, the Jets will surely look to make some changes on that side of the ball.

Zach Wilson is a clear franchise cornerstone, and the Jets will need him to show some progression in 2022, but the team's clearest area of weakness came from the EDGE last season, which is why this veteran player will be the Jets' surprise roster cut this offseason.

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Surprise Jets Roster Cut in 2022 Offseason

Shaq Lawson

The Jets forked over a sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans in order to bring in Shaq Lawson to help mitigate the losses of Carl Lawson and Vinny Curry. With the two proven EDGE rushers out for the year, Lawson was acquired to help fortify a position of need. Lawson had previously played for the Dolphins and Bills, so he had some level of familiarity with the AFC East and the Jets figured he'd be a decent stopgap until the aforementioned duo got healthy.

That was far from the case, however, as Lawson regularly turned in sub-par performances and was among the least effective EDGE rushers in the NFL. Lawson featured in 14 games for the Jets, recording just 1.0 sacks, 5 quarterback hits, and 15 solo tackles. In his previous 29 games, with Buffalo and Miami, Lawson had 10.5 sacks, 36 QB hits, 64 tackles, and 17 tackles for loss. The drop-off in production was certainly noticeable, although unexpected.

Lawson doesn't carry a huge salary for the 2022 season, as he's under contract for just $990,000, but that gives the Jets all the more reason to offload him as soon as possible. Considering he won't hurt the budget to cut, releasing Lawson this offseason could be a smart move for a Jets team that has the potential to land a high-quality talent at the EDGE position in the draft.

While Lawson isn't dreadful in the rush game, his lack of presence in pass-rushing scenarios has been crippling for the Jets' defense as a whole, and it's time the team moves on from what can best be described as a failed experiment.