Nania’s Numbers explains why cutting Avery Williamson to pave the way for James Burgess and/or Neville Hewitt would be preposterous.
Because the team can save $6.5 million in cap room by cutting him, there has been plenty of chatter in New York Jets circles about the idea of cutting inside linebacker Avery Williamson. Many fans have cited their confidence in James Burgess and Neville Hewitt—two players who took over some of Williamson’s playing time as he missed the season with an ACL injury—as a reason they would feel comfortable about parting with Williamson.
Joe Douglas would be doing his football team a disservice by parting ways with a proven starter-quality performer in favor of two players who came in and played like exactly what they are – backups. The data makes it obvious how large the gap is between Williamson and the duo that replaced him.
Let’s take a look at the Jet X skill spider graphs of all three linebackers in question. Here is how Williamson stacked up among qualified linebackers in 2018:
Next, here is a look at how Burgess and Hewitt fared among qualified linebackers in 2019:
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