Report: Jets decline 2017 option for former Broncos tackle Clady

Two-time first-team All-Pro and former Denver Broncos tackle Ryan Clady is poised to hit the free agent market for the first time in his career.

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports that the New York Jets will not exercise Clady’s contract option for 2017, which means the four-time Pro Bowler will be able to sign with any team of his choosing.

Jets have notified Ryan Clady’s agent @_SportsTrust that they aren’t exercising option for 2017. Clady a free agent.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 15, 2017

According to Schefter, Clady was due to make $10 million in 2017, of which $1 million would have been paid out as a roster bonus on Wednesday had the Jets not released him.

Clady spent just 10 months with in New York after being traded by Denver in April and only played eight games in an injury-shortened season. In Week 3, Clady tore his rotator cuff, but he played through Week 9, after which he was placed on injured reserve.

Injuries too plagued Clady’s time in Denver. Though he did earn a Super Bowl 50 championship with the team, Clady did not play a down in 2015 after suffering an ACL tear in OTAs.

Clady also missed much of the Broncos’ Super Bowl run in 2013, starting only two games before a Lisfranc injury sidelined him for the season.

In the offseason leading up to the 2013 regular season, Denver placed the franchise tag on Clady but ended up working out a five-year, $57.5 million deal before the deadline that would have locked in the tag.

Before that season, Clady had not missed a single start since being selected No. 12 overall out of Boise State in the 2008 NFL draft.

Since then, Clady’s played in one full season — 2014, when he started all 16 games — while missing all by 10 games in 2013, 2015, and 2016 combined due to injury.

Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan’s Tyler Polumbus, joining “The Drive” on Wednesday shortly after news of Clady’s release broke, said it’s an intriguing prospect for the Broncos to perhaps take a look at their former left tackle, especially if they can re-sign Russell Okung and move him to right tackle.

For “The Drive’s” full interview with Polumbus, listen below:

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.