Jets release seven-time Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold

In a move that will hurt some fans, the New York Jets have decided to cut starting center Nick Mangold in an effort to both free up cap space and start over with a new, younger regime. The 33 year old out of Ohio State was set to earn over $9 million in 2017, and will now have to look at other options:

After being drafted by the Jets in 2006 — in the first round, at No. 29 overall — Mangold has been a consistent presence for the team. That was until last season. In his first eight years in the NFL, the center had only missed two games (in 2011). He went on to miss only one game per season in 2014 and 2015, before missing half the 2016 season with a lingering ankle injury. It was the most time Mangold has missed, and was fairly representative of where the Buckeye is in his career.

Mangold’s final deal in New York was worth $54 million over seven seasons. The deal made him the third highest paid center in the league and the fourth highest paid player for the Jets.

Mangold was voted to seven Pro Bowls and was voted All-Pro twice in his 11-year career. Teammates, coaches and fans alike will be sad to see Mangold go — he was loved just as much for what he did in the community, as he was for his on-field effort.