Setting the table for Jets' offseason: 81 days that could reshape team

Now that the football part of the football season is over, it's time to focus on key dates in the offseason, looking at them through a New York Jets lens:

February 5 -- The waiver period begins. Basically, this is the waving of the green flag, signaling teams they can start cutting players. The Jets have a handful of veterans on the bubble, led by Muhammad Wilkerson and Matt Forte.

In Wilkerson's case, they don't have to do anything until March 15. If they don't cut him by then, his 2018 salary ($16.75 million) becomes fully guaranteed on the 16th -- and they won't let that happen. The team's intentions became clear near the end of the season, when they turned a one-game disciplinary benching…