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Backup linebacker Garrett McIntyre will return for his fourth season with the Jets in 2014.

(William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

The Jets solidified some more depth at linebacker Wednesday, when they announced that they re-signed Garrett McIntyre.

He became a restricted free agent after last season, but the Jets decided not to offer him a tender, which made him an unrestricted free agent. McIntyre, 29, wound up re-signing with the Jets anyway.

Next season will be his fourth with the team – and really his fourth in the NFL, period, after he took a circuitous path to reach the league.

McIntyre has started 10 games for the Jets, including three last season, when his playing time increased after rush outside linebacker Quinton Coples suffered a hairline fracture in his ankle during the preseason – an injury that sidelined him for the first two games.

McIntyre wound up playing 271 total defensive snaps last season, including 35 and 44 in the first two games, respectively. McIntyre missed three games with a knee injury, and then returned for the final four games, during which he played 19, nine, 14 and 13 snaps.

He had two sacks last season and has 5½ during his time with the Jets. He played defensive end at Fresno State and is comfortable rushing the quarterback out of a three-point stance, because of his extensive experience doing it. He had to learn how to stand up and play linebacker in the NFL.

Last season marked the end of McIntyre’s three-year $1.41 million contract, which saw him count $560,000 toward the Jets’ salary cap in 2013, when he earned a base salary of $555,000.

He finished the season listed as the backup to strong-side linebacker Calvin Pace, who became an unrestricted free agent after the season, but was re-signed by the Jets.

Another backup linebacker – Nick Bellore, who is behind David Harris at middle linebacker – was also a restricted free agent. Bellore, a valuable special teams player, was offered a tender by the Jets. He signed the $1.431 million qualifying offer – a significant raise from the $557,000 he earned in 2013.