Mike Maccagnan is ready to open his green-and-white wallet.

The third-year Jets general manager said he intends to spend -- and spend quite a bit -- on the free agent market this March. After two years of pinching pennies and scouring the discount aisle, the Jets will be "very active" in free agency, according to Maccagnan.

"I do think we have a lot of potential to improve this team going forward," he continued. "We'll focus on players we can acquire from a talent standpoint that kind of fit what we want to do both from an ability and character standpoint."

The Jets don't just have money to spend ... but a boatload of it. Assuming a universal team cap of $178 million, the Jets will be $78,989,406 under the cap, per OverTheCap.com. That figure is the third most in the NFL. Once the Jets make the expected cuts of tackle Ben Ijalana, running back Matt Forte and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, it will balloon to $97.739 million. They can free additional space with contract restructures.

That's more than enough to make a run potential free-agent options Kirk Cousins (Redskins quarterback), Allen Robinson (Jaguars receiver) and Ziggy Ansah (Lions defensive end).

But will they?

The Jets haven't had this much money since 2015, an offseason that saw them sign cornerbacks Darrelle Revis, Buster Skrine and Antonio Cromartie, safety Marcus Gilchrist, and trade for the contracts of receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Skrine is the only one left.

While the Jets will spend this offseason ... they'll make sure to do it wisely.

"From our standpoint, we're going to try to build this not necessarily to be successful next year, but to be successful next year and the year after," Maccagnan said. "I think if you look where we're at in terms of the cap this year and actually the following year, we have the ability, I think, to build this in terms of improving this team to where we want to be.

"I don't think necessarily you take the approach where you just mortgage the future and try to do everything in one year ... I do think there is a lot of potential to actually go that route and sign some good young players who will hopefully help us going forward. Not just in the first year, but the subsequent years after that."

Last year, Maccagnan gutted the Jets roster. He believed this team was in need of a full-on rebuild, so he tore the house down to rebuild it from the ground up. It worked. While the Jets finished this year 5-11, many of the young players improved.

But 2017 was also the seventh straight season the Jets finished short of the postseason, including all three Maccagnan has been calling the shots.

Acting owner Christopher Johnson showed patience when he re-signed Maccagnan to a two-year extension last week, but he won't wait forever.

The Jets took a minor step forward this year. They'll have to take a big one in 2018. And free agency will be one area the Jets will look to do it.

"(Christopher) understands what we're trying to accomplish," Maccagnan said. "I think he's very supportive of it. We're all on the same page. Not just myself and Christopher, but also (Todd Bowles) and as an organization.

"We have a lot of things we feel good about. There are definitely some things we need to improve upon. But I do think we've got an offseason here which gives us a chance to do that."

Connor Hughes may be reached at chughes@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connor_J_Hughes. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.