Will McDonald, Jets
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New York Jets pass rusher Will McDonald trying to make a play during an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins.
One pass rusher left, and another one is here to stay.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said the New York Jets are “expected” to extend pass rusher Will McDonald by way of the fifth-year team option.
On Friday, February 27, the NFL officially announced how much the fifth-year option prices would be for the 2023 draft class. According to Spotrac, McDonald’s fifth-year option is for $14.47 million. That figure, if accepted, would be fully guaranteed.
The Jets have until May 1 to make this decision official. If the team accepts that option, McDonald would be under contract for the next two seasons through 2027.
Jets GM Talks McDonald Looming Decision
“We got time to make that decision, but feel really good about Will and that being a possibility,” general manager Darren Mougey said at the NFL Combine.
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#Jets GM Darren Mougey wasn’t ready to reveal the team’s intentions with Will McDonald’s fifth year team option, but said accepting it is a possibility.
According to Over The Cap, that option would be $15.3 million fully guaranteed.
🎥 @nyjets #JetUp #NFLCombine
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ESPN’s Rich Cimini reacted to that answer by saying, “Sounds like the Jets will exercise Will McDonald’s fifth-year option.”
NFL analyst Will Parkinson called the decision a no-brainer for the Jets.
“There is a lot of discourse about this, and that’s very interesting to me. In some ways, he had a very disappointing 2025 season. He still finished with 8+ sacks. He was a 10.5 sack guy a year ago. Picking up this fifth-year option is a no-doubt smart move,” Parkinson said on the “TOJ Pod.”
Over the last two years, McDonald has collected 18.5 sacks and 43 quarterback hits.
Parkinson explained that type of player on the open market “is probably getting about $18 [million] to $20 million per year.”
The Jets Seemingly Made Their Choice
At the NFL trade deadline last year, the Jets fielded plenty of calls.
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY revealed on “Jets Final Drive” that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers called up the Jets, asking about McDonald.
The Jets rejected those advances, indicating he was “untouchable” according to Hughes, and they instead floated Jermaine Johnson as an alternative.
Earlier this week, the Jets flipped Johnson to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat.
It seems like the Jets have picked McDonald twice over Johnson. It happened last year at the deadline, and it happened again this week.
Gang Green Needs More Juice in the Pass Rush Room
Pass rusher was one of the Jets’ top needs before they dealt Johnson. There is an even bigger emphasis with JJ gone.
This will likely be a multi-pronged approach for the Jets. The No. 2 overall pick is nearly sharpied in to be an EDGE. However, don’t rule out some splash activity in free agency as well.
The NFL officially announced that the cap has gone up by $22 million from last year. According to Over The Cap, the Jets currently have $88.7 million in cap space. That is the third most in the NFL.
There are seven pass rushers listed in the top-50 free agent list for ESPN’s Matt Bowen. The group is split into two different subsections.
There are the true veterans who are 30+ years of age: Trey Hendrickson, Khalil Mack, and Joey Bosa.
Then there is another group that will all be 27 by the start of the 2026 season: Jaelan Phillips, Odafe Oweh, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Boye Mafe.
That is plenty of opportunity for the Jets to hit the upgrade button this offseason.