Rumored contract demands emerge for NY Jets WR Braxton Berrios (Report)

Braxton Berrios could be looking for a surprisingly lucrative contract

With only 36 days to go until the NFL’s legal tampering period opens at 12 p.m. ET on March 14, 2022, the free-agent rumor mill is beginning to heat up.

The New York Jets‘ most oft-discussed impending free agent is undoubtedly Braxton Berrios, a reigning All-Pro kickoff returner who also emerged as the team’s most reliable offensive weapon down the stretch of the 2021 season.

Our first rumor regarding Berrios’ potential contract demands has arrived.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports that one agent at the Senior Bowl “speculated that Berrios, a pending free agent, might be looking to be paid as one of the top slot receivers, which would put him at about $9 million per year.”

Cimini also notes that contract discussions between Berrios and the Jets “probably will get serious at next month’s scouting combine.”

An average annual value of $9 million would currently tie Green Bay’s Randall Cobb for 24th-highest among wide receivers, per Spotrac. Here is a look at some other wide receiver contracts in that price range:

• 22. Tyler Boyd, Bengals ($10.8 million per year)
• 23. Sterling Shepard, Giants ($10.3 million)
• 24. Randall Cobb, Packers ($9 million)
• 25. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers ($8 million)
• 25. T.Y. Hilton, Colts ($8 million)
• 27. Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals ($7.7 million)
• 28. DeVante Parker, Dolphins ($7.6 million)
• 29. Cole Beasley, Bills ($7.3 million)

Among slot wide receivers (WRs who lined up in the slot on over 50% of the plays in which they were targeted), an average annual value of $9 million would currently tie Cobb for eighth-highest. Here are the top 10 active contracts for slot receivers in terms of average annual value:

• 3. Keenan Allen, Chargers ($20 million per year)
• 6. Tyreek Hill, Chiefs ($18 million)
• 13. Cooper Kupp, Rams ($15.8 million)
• 15. Jarvis Landry, Browns ($15.1 million)
• 19. Curtis Samuel, Commanders ($11.5 million)
• 22. Tyler Boyd, Bengals ($10.8 million)
• 23. Sterling Shepard, Giants ($10.3 million)
• 24. Randall Cobb, Packers ($9 million)
• 25. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers ($8 million)
• 29. Cole Beasley, Bills ($7.3 million)

Would signing Berrios to a deal worth $9 million be a smart move for New York? The Jets would have a difficult decision on their hands if he truly does demand that number.

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