Nick Mangold

Nick Mangold is now a free agent. (AP Photo | Brad Penner)

Now-former Jets center Nick Mangold was not given a chance to remain with the organization in 2017 on a pay cut, he told the New York Post's Steve Serby.

"I was hoping there was going to be a negotiation of some sort to get something worked out," Mangold said. "But when you're told, 'Hey, we're cutting you, and good luck,' that really caught me off guard."

The Jets created $9.075 million in salary cap space by cutting Mangold on Feb. 25, which is when they announced the move.

There was no dead money attached to the move. Mangold, 33, was entering the final year of his contract. He had been with the Jets since they drafted him in 2006.

But now, the Jets seem ready to move on with Wesley Johnson, a pending restricted free agent, as Mangold's replacement.

Mangold understands what the Jets are doing with their seven recent veteran cuts, which have dumped $45.945 million in cap space. But he also thinks he can still play in the NFL.

"I've seen the other moves that have been pulled off recently, and it just seems to be the route that they're taking, to get younger and cheaper," he said. "I still feel that I got a couple of good years left in me. I still love the game. It's still a great passion of mine. So hopefully, the right situation comes along, and [I will] be able to find a team that I can carry that on with."

Mangold is currently rehabbing an ankle injury that limited him to eight games last season and eventually landed him on injured reserve.

Though Mangold was caught off guard by his release, he appreciated that Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan didn't officially announce it until a few days after he told Mangold. That initial call from Maccagnan came while Mangold was with his family at Disney World.

"Mike gave me a couple of days to come to grips with it and tell people I wanted to tell ahead of time," Mangold said. "So even though it was a horrible situation, I thought they handled it the best way that they could."

Mangold, on Twitter, even made light of getting the dreaded "you're cut" phone call from Maccagnan while on a Disney vacation:

Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.