Offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste, who was released by the New England Patriots earlier this month, will be staying in the AFC East after all. According to a report by Brian Costello of the New York Post, the 27-year-old will sign with the New York Jets.
Details of the deal are not available at this point, but the expectation is that it will be of the low-cost variety.
A third-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2019, Cajuste missed both his rookie and his sophomore seasons in the NFL due to injury. The West Virginia product finally returned to the field in 2021, but was unable to carve out a consistent role: serving primarily as a depth option the last two years, he appeared in only 17 total games with five starts.
Even though injuries and inconsistent play were the story of his first four seasons in New England, the team decided to keep Cajuste from entering free agency. The club used the original round tender on the restricted free agent, effectively signing him to a one-year, $2.73 million deal to have him compete for playing time at the offensive tackle position.
However, his spot on the team was far from safe despite the tender. For starters, none of his contract was guaranteed and releasing Cajuste would not — and in fact did not — create any dead cap space.
The Patriots furthermore added veterans Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson in free agency and also drafted versatile guard/tackle option Sidy Sow in the fourth round. They also still had Trent Brown, Conor McDermott and Andrew Stueber on the roster.
Releasing Cajuste earlier this month did therefore not come as too big a surprise. Two weeks later, after taking visits with both the Jets and the New York Giants, he has now found a new home.
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