AP

The Jets have been trying to get wide receiver Santonio Holmes to give back some of the money he’s currently owed for the 2013 season, but they’re looking in other directions as well to open up some breathing room under the cap with free agency about to get underway.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the team will release nose tackle Sione Pouha. Injuries limited Pouha to 12 games last season, the first under a three-year contract he signed last offseason. His $4.9 million salary for 2013 was due to become guaranteed on March 15, which explains why the team cut the cord right now.

Pouha’s departure will give the Jets $3.8 million of cap space that they didn’t have with him on the team. They will have to deal with $2.4 million of dead money against the cap, but the Jets painted themselves into such a corner over the last few years that every bit of savings counts as they put their team together this offseason.

At 34 and coming off a year hindered by chronic back issues, Pouha will have a hard time getting a deal that offers him more than a look from a team in need of help on the interior of their defensive line.