Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety J.J. Wilcox has finally found a new home and it’s with the San Francisco 49ers New York Jets.
Wilcox, who was released by the Steelers in April after just one season in Pittsburgh, has reportedly agreed to a deal with the 49ers Jets. No terms of the deal have been made public as of yet but it’s a good bet that Wilcox was given a minimum salary benefit contract.
The Steelers acquired Wilcox from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers via a trade last September and immediately restructured his contract in order to free up some additional salary cap space for the 2017 season.
Wilcox appeared in 12 regular season games with the Steelers last season and started once. He registered 12 total tackles and one interception. He also was penalized four times last season with three of those coming on special teams. Those penalties resulted in him being inactive for three of the Steelers final four regular season games.
The Steelers release of Wilcox saved the team $3.125 million in salary cap space prior to roster spot displacement and the move didn’t come as a surprise as Pittsburgh had selected two safeties during the draft.
Wilcox entered the NFL in 2013 with the Dallas Cowboys as a third-round draft pick out of Georgia Southern. He signed with the Buccaneers in March of 2017 as an unrestricted free agent but never played a down for them as he was ultimately traded to the Steelers.
UPDATE: Wilcox has changed course and will sign with the New York Jets, according to a late Tuesday report by Schefter. You can read the details below.
