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The New York Jets’ announcement on the fate of linebacker Bart Scott's future with the Jets came quicker than expected. Less than an hour after announcing the release of four others, including linebacker Calvin Pace, the Jets announced that they will in fact release Scott, saving them an additional $7.15 million in salary cap space.

Although the move was rumored and even somewhat expected given Scott’s decline in production over the last couple of seasons, it still came as a surprise to Scott’s agent, Harold Lewis, who had told USA Today that he and the Jets had a tentative meeting scheduled later this week to see if they could agree to a restructured deal or pay cut to keep Scott with the team in 2013.

Instead, Scott’s release, combined with the four earlier ones, means the Jets have cut over $30 million in salary in one day, a total that would bring them under the cap according to an earlier USA Today projection.

Scott, who previously played for Jets head coach Rex Ryan while Ryan was Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, was one of the first big free agent signings brought made after Ryan took the Jets job. He recorded 173 tackles over his first two seasons as the leader of Gang Green’s defense, helping the team reach back-to-back AFC Championship Games, but only compiled 126 tackles over the last two seasons and just 60 during an injury-plagued 2012, his lowest output since he became a full-time starter in 2005.

In a statement on the Jets’ website announcing all of Tuesday’s cuts, Ryan praised Scott as “an instrumental part of our defense for the past four years,” and the linebacker will likely always be remembered by Jets for his now-famous “Can’t wait!” post-game soundbite after the Jets upset the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium during the 2010 playoffs.

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