Depending on how you look at it, New York Jets defensive end Carl Lawson just took a $6 million pay cut or got at least an $8 million raise. Or both.

The Jets and Lawson have reached an agreement on a reworked contract for the 2023 NFL season, the New York Post and NJ.com reported.

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The former Auburn standout joined New York as a free agent in 2021 for a three-year, $45 million contract. Lawson was to be paid $15 million in 2023, the final season of the deal, and count $15.7 million against the Jets’ salary cap.

None of that 2023 money was guaranteed, so New York could have taken Lawson off the books completely by releasing him without owing him anything. And there was plentiful speculation that would happen.

But at the NFL’s annual meeting in March, Jets coach Robert Saleh said Lawson would be with the team in 2023 “as long as he can walk.”

And it seems he will be, but not for $15 million.

The new contract calls for Lawson to be paid $9 million for the 2023 season, with $8 million of that guaranteed. It also has incentives that could be worth another $3 million for Lawson.

The structure of the contract will cut $12.7 million off the Jets’ salary-cap obligations for 2023, which more than triples the amount of money available for New York.

An Achilles-tendon injury sustained in training camp kept Lawson sidelined for his first season with the Jets.

He returned in 2022 to start every game, play 58 percent of the defensive snaps, make 33 tackles, record seven sacks and register 24 quarterback hits. Lawson finished second on the team in sacks and quarterback hits.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.