Linebacker Jamien Sherwood got his first chance to play regularly with the New York Jets defense during the 2024 season. Sherwood responded by leading the NFL with 98 solo tackles, and the Jets didn’t let the former Auburn safety get away in free agency.
Sherwood was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at 3 p.m. CDT Wednesday, but the Jets headed that off with a three-year, $45 million contract extension that includes $30 million in guaranteed money, SportsNet New York, FOX Sports and ESPN reported on Sunday.
New York chose Sherwood in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the intention of converting him to linebacker. Sherwood spent his first three seasons as a protégé of Pro Bowl veteran C.J. Mosley.
An injury limited Sherwood to five games as a rookie, but he played in every game in 2022 and 2023, when he was on the field for 219 defensive snaps and 729 special-teams plays.
In 2024, injuries limited Mosley to four games and 110 defensive snaps.
Sherwood stepped into the breach with 1,065 defensive snaps. He recorded 158 total tackles and won the Jets’ Curtis Martin Award as the team’s Most Valuable Player for the 2024 season.
Sherwood surpassed the 134 recorded by Miami Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby in 2012 for the most tackles in one season by a former Auburn player. (Tackles have been recorded leaguewide since 1987.)
The agreement between Sherwood and the Jets on an extension took another of the top linebackers off the free-agent market this week. Also re-signing with their teams have been the Kansas City Chiefs’ Nick Bolton, Philadelphia Eagles’ Zack Baun, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Lavonte David, Seattle Seahawks’ Ernest Jones and Washington Commanders’ Bobby Wagner.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.