The Jets got a nifty piece of business done before the start of the regular season.
The team locked up cornerback Michael Carter II on a three-year, $30.75 million extension worth up to $33 million with a little over $19 million guaranteed, The Post’s Brian Costello confirmed via a source.
The deal makes Carter the highest-paid slot corner in the league. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network first reported the deal.
Before the move, the Jets restructured the contracts of Quincy Williams and Tyler Conklin to create $8 million in cap space, per ESPN’s Field Yates.
Carter, who was set to hit free agency after this season, has become a key part of the Jets defense after being taken in the fifth round of the 2021 draft.
Though he is not a superstar on the level of Sauce Gardner or Quinnen Williams, Carter has played at a high level for the Jets since being picked — outlasting the other Michael Carter, who Joe Douglas picked ahead of him in the 2021 draft, and being arguably the best pick Douglas has made as GM of the Jets.
“He’s kind of a quiet assassin,” coach Robert Saleh said of Carter during training camp. “He’s so reliable, he’s out there, he doesn’t get as much fanfare, but he’s as reliable as any nickel there is in football. Teammates love him, works his tail off, and he’s another guy that we can do a lot with, and because of that, it adds a little bit of a dimension to our defense that many others can’t have.”
The market fell in Carter’s favor this offseason, when Kenny Moore and Taron Johnson signed three-year extensions for $30 and $31 million apiece with the Colts and Bills.
It did not take much longer for him to take advantage.