D'Brickashaw Ferguson Retires: Latest Comments and Reaction

After 10 NFL seasons, New York Jets left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson announced on Saturday morning that he has decided to retire from football:

ESPN.com's Rich Cimini was the first to report the surprising move Friday, and he touched on what it means for the Jets from a financial perspective:

Brian Costello of the New York Post provided confirmation of Cimini's report.

On Saturday, owner Woody Johnson said Ferguson "will be remembered as one of the finest players in Jets history," per Cimini.

Spotrac tweeted further details regarding how Ferguson's departure will impact the Jets' salary-cap structure:

Although Ferguson's retirement may seem sudden, Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 reported that those close to him knew it was a possibility:

"Anyone who knows Brick knows this isn't about sticking it to the Jets," Ferguson's former teammate Damien Woody added on Twitter. "This man will be successful at anything. Just time, folks."

Despite the fact Ferguson is stepping away from the football field, he still has an interest in remaining involved with the NFL, per NFL Network's Albert Breer:

The 32-year-old offensive lineman spent his entire career with Gang Green after being selecting with the fourth overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft.

Ferguson played in and started every game during his career for a total of 160 appearances. He made the Pro Bowl each year from 2009 to 2011, and he was an extremely reliable and consistent presence.

Despite that, the Virginia alum was reportedly approached by Jets management in early April about taking a pay cut in order to improve the team's difficult salary-cap situation, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

With a cap hit of over $14 million in both 2016 and 2017, per Spotrac, Ferguson was the most likely candidate for restructuring in order to give the Jets a bit more flexibility.

Prior to the talk of a reworked contract, Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan didn't completely commit to keeping Ferguson in the fold when asked about him in March, according to Mehta: "Right now, D'Brickashaw is under contract. Our thought is that he would be [on the roster]. ... We're trying to make decisions that are in the best interest of the organization—both short- and long-term—so right now I would say he would be on our roster going forward, but we'll see how this thing unfolds."

While it can certainly be argued that Ferguson's play in recent years hasn't reached the level he displayed during his three-season Pro Bowl run, his presence was an underrated aspect of New York's offense.

Pro Football Focus detailed Ferguson's decline from the 2010 season:

The right side of the Jets offensive line has some question marks with Brian Winters at guard and Breno Giacomini at tackle, and now that Ferguson is out of the fold, there are few certainties aside from center Nick Mangold.

New York made some progress on the offensive side of the ball in 2015 under head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, but the departure of Ferguson will force the Jets to scramble to find a replacement.

Sean Hickey is listed next on New York's depth chart, but he lacks experience, and the drop-off in play from Ferguson to Hickey would likely be significant.

That means the Jets may give some thought to selecting an offensive tackle with the 20th overall pick in the NFL draft as a replacement.

The one positive that comes from Ferguson's retirement is the fact the Jets now likely have enough cap space to re-sign quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who remains the top signal-caller on the open market.

Doing so will be a major coup for New York if it closes the deal, but Fitzpatrick may not be as effective in 2016 and beyond without Ferguson's protection.

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