Trumaine Johnson

It is amazing that a player with $68 million in career earnings can land on a practice squad. The Panthers have a glaring issue at cornerback, from top to bottom. If Johnson is motivated he could eventually find a way onto the active roster.

The Jets save $3 million from Johnson's release but will eat $12 million in dead money. Signed to a five-year deal in 2018, Johnson never came close to living up to his contract before getting benched last season. The Jets will move forward with Darryl Roberts, Blessuan Austin, and Arthur Maulet, but are expected to be aggressive in free agency. They've been linked to Byron Jones and James Bradberry.

Johnson's five-year, $72.5 million contract has been a disaster for the Jets, with his 2018 campaign marked by poor play and 2019 defined by hamstring and ankle injuries. The latter issue forced him to injured reserve in November, and the Jets now figure to cut the cornerback even though they'll absorb a $12 dead cap hit. A release at least gets Johnson's $11 million base salary off the books, and the Jets might be able to spread out the dead cap charge if the NFL and NFLPA agree to a new collective bargaining agreement this spring.

Johnson sat out Sunday's loss to the Dolphins and will now miss the remainder of the season. The 29-year-old signed a five-year, $72.5 million deal with the Jets in March 2018, but he's played in only 17 total games and could be cut at the end of the season, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, though the move would still leave $12 million in dead cap for 2020.