Rams eat part of Smith's salary to complete trade.

[C Mart]

Brian Costello ‏@BrianCoz
League source says Smith deal was reworked and his Jets salary is $2.45 million, same as Hunter's

Jenny Vrentas ‏@JennyVrentas
The way it works is Smith signed new contract w Rams before 4 p.m. with a $1.55M SB. Traded to Jets after 4 p.m

[124]

With the news that Smith restructured his deal so that the Jets are only on the line for $2.45 million, the same they would've been for Hunter, NOW this trade makes sense. Glad to hear this.

[Ruby2]

LMAO. Let this be a lesson to us all to not to cry about the contract untill all the facts are in.

[C Mart]

Originally Posted by Ruby2

LMAO. Let this be a lesson to us all to not to cry about the contract untill all the facts are in.

Oh people will still be crying about this trade...Guaranteed

[Ruby2]

Originally Posted by C Mart

Oh people will still be crying about this trade...Guaranteed

Sad but very true.

[C Mart]

Manish Mehta ‏@MMehtaNYDN
I've been told that the 2013 portion of Jason Smith's contract remains the same: He's scheduled to earn $12M with a voidable provision

[Ray Ray19]

Originally Posted by copernicus

I would agree Aug. My beef is that without an OLINE you could argue you have no team. No OLINE translates to no running or passing game putting the defense on the field multiple times before breaking down.

Back up QB, safety, DE, and Wr all should have taken a back seat until the RT position was addressed.

The JETS actions this off season feed the argument that the JETS were more focussed on the back page. Trading for Tebow and the circus they knew it would bring rather than solidifying the OLINE issues from the very start of the off season it opened the FO to criticism. The fact that we are scrambling for a RT two weeks before the season starts is a recipe for disaster. Much easier to hide a weak safety or Wr than RT....

When are you going to stop with your over-the-top conspiracy theories?

The Jets made moves all off-season, they addressed several areas, and they prioritized those areas. Teams can't address every hole the way YOU want them to, it just doesn't work that way. And stop with the circus bull****, because it is nothing more than BS.

The team is making moves now at RT because the Hunter plan didn't work out, they obviously liked Howard and spent the last year developing him with a back-up plan that he could impress, he's done that, and now the team has made a move for a player who has disappointed, but does have talent, and still has potential, real potential, maybe a change of scenery works.

ALL teams will make a flurry of moves right into the start of the season, ALL teams, the GOOD teams too, the crap drivel about how the Jets are unorganized and don't have a plan is exactly that, CRAP.

It's time you wake up and stop with the over-the-top dramatization with every damn post.

[C Mart]

Jason Smith, the No. 2 overall pick in 2009, is now officially a Jet, and could play in live action as early as Thursday's preseason game against the Eagles.

The Jets and Rams struck a deal last night to exchange Smith and Wayne Hunter, each recently benched from their starting jobs. Both players had to pass a physical first, and Smith also signed a new contract with the Rams prior to the trade.

In simplest terms, Smith was due to make $4 million in base salary this year, while Hunter was due $2.45 million. The teams worked out an arrangement where the amount each pays out will not change, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement. That person requested anonymity because teams do not comment on players' contracts.

Smith signed a new contract with the Rams before the league day ended at 4 p.m. that included a $1.55 million signing bonus, the difference between his salary and Hunter's. After 4 p.m., he was traded to the Jets with a $2.45 million base salary.

The arrangement makes sense, because the Jets would not sign up to pay even more money for a back-up tackle. Smith's 2013 salary, a reported $12 million that voids if he plays in less than 31 percent of the snaps this season, does not change.

General manager Mike Tannenbaum confirmed that the team's plans are to keep Austin Howard as the starting right tackle, a role he took on when Hunter was benched last week. Smith will be a back-up left and right tackle, and also come in as the jumbo tight end.

Like coach Rex Ryan, though, Tannenbaum left the door slightly open at the position, saying, "We'll see how the season unfolds."

Tannenbaum said the Jets did not intend to trade Hunter when they said publicly last Thursday that he would not be moved. But he said the Rams called Friday and talks heated up from there.

He emphasized that both players could benefit from a fresh start. Smith is considered a bust in St. Louis.

"For us, it's more about what we think he can do," Tannenbaum said. "He has very good movement skills for somebody his size, he plays both sides, we like his range. Again, I think he has to learn from what happened in St. Louis, but with that said, come here with a fresh start."

Smith has played only 29 games since 2009, starting 26, as he has dealt with concussions and other injuries. Tannenbaum admitted "that was a concern," but considered the risk "reasonable."

Tannenbaum did not want to say that Hunter lost confidence or that there was no longer a way for him to thrive here. His last performance for the team was not a good one, as he surrendered 2.5 sacks and another nullified by penalty in the second preseason game against the Giants.

Did the Jets misjudge Hunter's talent when they signed him to a four-year extension as a starter last summer?

"When we signed Wayne, we felt like there was a lot of good football there," Tannenbaum said. "He played a lot of good football for us. Last year was mixed, it wasn’t all bad. There were some really good things in there.

We felt like he deserved another chance. We kept evaluating things, and gave him an opportunity to start against the Giants, and we measured that against Austin and other opportunities (around the league)."

Interestingly, the Jets now have three of the top 11 picks in the 2009 draft: Smith (2), Mark Sanchez (5) and Aaron Maybin (11).

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/201...fficially.html

[Gangrene]

Rams paid $1.55 million to trade Jason Smith



The Jets’ decision to trade a washed-up right tackle for another washed-up right tackle became more curious when considering that the washed-up right tackle the Jets traded will make $1.55 million less than the washed-up right tackle the Jets acquired.

As it turns out, the Rams made up the difference in order to get the deal done.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the Rams gave Smith a $1.55 million signing bonus before the trade was finalized. Smith in turn reduced his base salary to $2.45 million, which matches what the Jets would have paid Hunter.

Mehta also reports that the deal is now official.

As we pointed out last night, Smith will be a Jet for only one season, barring a new contract. His $11.25 million roster bonus is due the first day of the 2013 league year, and if he takes enough snaps to make it voidable the deal wouldn’t be voided until after the deadline for using the franchise tag has passed. Thus, the Jets will either cut Smith to avoid the $11.25 million roster bonus or Smith will play at a high level and void the contract in order to become an unrestricted free agent.

Posted by Mike Florio on August 28, 2012, 8:01 PM EDT

[Bob Crable]

I'm laughing at all of you who said the Jets were taking a $1.55 million cap hit.

[NYJ0815]

LOL, Florio is such a clown. The moral is to wait til the facts are in before shooting your mouth off.

[fltflo]

Originally Posted by Ruby2

The straws, they are being grasped desperately.

J

[sg3]

God Bless You Mike Tannenbaum for making this happen

Hunter, Mulligan, Gholston, etc

Take Schotty and the Rams at UNDER whatever the number is in Vegas

[Jasper17]

ZOMG!!!1

Fier Tranny!

My best friend's uncle has a dog whose cousin is a Rams fan and he says that Jason Smith is so much of teh sukz the rams should pay all of his salary.

I haz no faith in dis team here in 0-12.

[First DOWN!]

So the Rams paid the Jets to take Smith off their hands? We might be entering a new level of suck for a RT.

[Sourceworx]

Tanny's such a sneaky f*ck. Love that guy!!!!

[Buzzsaw]

Great trade, NO ONE is as bad as Hunter, now we have a depth guy/injury fill-in that has at least some potential.

[barkus]

nice job tanny, now the trade is a total win for the jets. Earmark the 1.5 mill for a WR and/or TE now

[Ray Ray19]

Originally Posted by First DOWN!

So the Rams paid the Jets to take Smith off their hands? We might be entering a new level of suck for a RT.

So instead of a mea culpa and a serving of crow for crying about how the jets are paying Smith too much, you make a bigger ass of yourself?

[JonEJet]

Originally Posted by Braumeister

Tanny's such a sneaky f*ck. Love that guy!!!!

What he said