The New York Jets have agreed to a contract extension with wide receiver Jeremy Kerley. Kerley, 25, was a fifth round draft pick of New York in 2011 out of Texas Christian University. Adam Caplan of ESPN was the first to report.

The deal is over four years, and for $16 million. Only $5.4 million is guaranteed. Kerley's new contract is similar to fellow slot wide receiver Julian Edelman (4 years, $17 million) of the New England Patriots.

General manager John Idzik left plenty of cap room during the offseason, just for this reason: to lock up his players. Other costless-agents-to-be for the Jets are David Harris and Bilal Powell. Idzik could also look to extend Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, who will keep getting more expensive as they continue to improve.

Kerley now has less pressure on him with the contract extension and the recent acquisition of Percy Harvin to the Jets receiving corps. Kerley drops down to the third receiver now with New York, and can play solely out of the slot where he has been more successful in his career. The past few seasons the Jets have been so weak at the wide receiver position that Kerley had to be the number two, and sometimes even the number one. Now, he has Eric Decker and Harvin with him to give Geno Smith three legitimate weapons in the air. The four-year veteran is finally in a spot that he will be most likely to succeed in.

Through week 7, Jeremy Kerley is third leading receiver on the Jets. He has 22 receptions for a total of 201 yards and one touchdown catch on this season. Kerley led the Jets in receiving yards each year he has been in New York (2011-2013).

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About the author
Bryan Schwartz
Covering MLB, NFL, NBA