The 2008 first round pick and last remaining piece of the Mike Shanahan era is now off to the New York Jets via trade, and the Broncos really have D’Brickashaw Ferguson to thank for that. Both Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin and Ohio State offensive tackle Taylor Decker could be in play for the Jets, but they have received plenty of attention and may not be on the board by the time the Jets come on the clock.
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In the first five years in the league, Clady was on the same path as Ferguson, not missing a single start. NY has the inexperienced Brent Qvale on its roster and is expected to re-sign Ben Ijalana, who was Ferguson’s backup. He never missed a practice or appeared on the team’s weekly injury report.
Clady gives them a starting-caliber replacement for Ferguson, but the immensely talented left tackle has often been injured. He missed the entire 2015 season with a torn ACL and has missed 30 of a possible 48 games over the last three seasons. But he did suffer a knee injury in April 2010 playing a pickup basketball game.
Clady was set to make $19.5 million over the next two years with the Broncos, carrying a $10.1 million cap hit for the upcoming season, but he now has a chance to make even more money through incentives with the Jets while lowering his cap number for this year.
He told The Associated Press a week before Super Bowl 50 that he wanted to be a “lifetime Bronco” and was willing to restructure his contract to assure that. The Broncos get to clear some cap and make room for their new offensive tackle former Seahawk Russell Okung.
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The reworked deal between the Jets and Clady also has an additional option year for a minimum of $10 million that can escalate to $13 million based on playing time and includes a $2.5 million February bonus. Maybe not for the 2016 New York Jets (although don’t necessarily rule that out), but probably for the 2017 edition and beyond.In a statement posted on the team’s website, Johnson called Ferguson “one of the finest players in Jets history”.
