New York Jets’ linebacker Darron Lee is set to become an unrestricted free agent after 2019 NFL season after the team decided not to pick up the fifth-year option on his contract.
Jets could have kept Lee, who was their first pick in 2016, for a base salary of $9.5 million in 2020 but it seems like the team is far for convinced that the 24-year-old is worth this money. Lee is set to earn $1.8 million in base salary in 2019.
According to sources around the league, Jets would prefer to deal Darron Lee before the season starts as he is projected to be a reserve behind the Avery Williamson and free agency pickup C.J. Mosley. It is believed that Lee might attract a number of suitors given the fact that he ended 2018 on a high note with 74 tackles, three interceptions, and one defensive touchdown.
New York Jets took Darron Lee 22nd overall in the 2016 NFL draft, but he largely failed to live up to the expectations set before him. He also struggled with issues of the field and as a result, was handed a four-game suspension in 2018 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Lee’s NFL career stats include 241 tackles, 4.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, three interceptions, and one defensive touchdown.
