Jets’ Alex Lewis agrees to pay cut

The Jets and guard Alex Lewis have agreed to a reworked contract (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Field Yates). Now, Lewis will earn a base salary of $3M in 2021, down from his scheduled $5.8M. Meanwhile, the final year of his deal in 2022 has been eliminated. Now, Lewis will have the opportunity to win the Jets’ starting right guard job and reach free agency next spring.

Lewis probably would have been released if he didn’t agree to the new terms. And, if he was cut at this stage of the offseason, he would have entered a fairly weak market, since most teams have filled their interior line needs (and allocated most of their dollars). On the plus side, the salary cap is set to jump to $208.2M in 2022, so Lewis could land a solid deal next March.

For now, Lewis will focus on vying for a first-string role along with first-round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker and fellow vet Greg Van Roten.