The Athletic: Jets final 53-man roster projection ( CUT DOWN DAY!)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/65...man-roster-projection-after-preseason-finale/

Jets final 53-man roster projection: Prichett, others make their case in preseason finale

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The preseason is over. Now, for the first time in the Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey era, it’s decision time. This Jets roster isn’t as deep (on paper, at least) as the last couple of years’, so there were more roster spots to be won at the bottom of the depth chart.

The biggest tell for where certain perceived bubble players stand might be who is or isn’t playing in the preseason finale. The actual results of Friday night’s game against the Eagles didn’t matter, but who played — and for some of them, how they played — helps to crystalize what Glenn and Mougey are thinking.

It’s important to note that whatever the Jets’ initial 53-man roster looks like almost certainly won’t be what it looks like when the season starts. I expect Mougey to be active on the waiver wire and trade market, even after already making two trades for defensive tackles earlier in the week. The Jets will be No. 7 in the waiver order and have obvious depth-related needs at quarterback (depending on Tyrod Taylor’s health), tight end, wide receiver and defensive end.

The Jets have to cut their roster down to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. That day, they are also able to put a maximum of two players on injured reserve and designate them to return, which would allow them to return after four weeks. Anyone else placed on injured reserve before cuts will miss the season. Another important note: Any vested veteran — a player with four or more accrued seasons — does not pass through waivers when they are released and can be signed by another team (or re-signed by the Jets) at any time.

With that, let’s get to it. Here’s my final 53-man roster projection after Friday’s preseason finale:

Quarterback (2)
In: Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor
Out: Adrian Martinez, Brady Cook

Taylor has been out a few weeks since having his knee scoped, and he didn’t wind up playing at all in the preseason. If he’s not ready for Week 1 (Glenn says he should be) or the early part of the season, that leaves an outside shot that the Jets keep Martinez or Cook (or a quarterback not on the roster) on the 53, though I still think the Jets could simply cut both of them then bring one or both back on the practice squad. In that scenario, they’d be able to use practice-squad elevations to designate a No. 2 quarterback on gameday.

Ideally, it doesn’t come to that.

Running Back (4)
In: Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, Kene Nwangwu
Out: Andrew Beck, Donovan Edwards, Lawrance Toafili

Davis hasn’t played or practiced since injuring his ankle against the Packers on Aug. 9. If it’s serious enough to linger into the season, perhaps Edwards has a shot to stick around, but odds are he’d make it through waivers, as running backs typically do. The Jets have been giving Nwangwu a decent amount of reps at running back, including in the preseason — and he’s looked decent on those runs. (He had six carries for 29 yards against the Eagles.) He was the starting running back on Friday. Edwards had a stellar first preseason game, didn’t play as well against the Giants and then scored a short touchdown on Friday, though he only gained 25 yards on eight carries.

I think Beck will ultimately be on the roster — just not the initial one. Since he’s a vested veteran the Jets can cut him and then promptly bring him back after some roster maneuvering, or start him out on the practice squad for Week 1 and call him up. Either way, I feel confident that he will not only be on this team but play a notable role in a run-heavy offense. He seems to have some chemistry with Fields in the passing game too.

Wide Receiver (6)
In: Garrett Wilson, Josh Reynolds, Tyler Johnson, Arian Smith, Jamaal Pritchett, Quentin Skinner
Out: Xavier Gipson, Brandon Smith, Malachi Corley, Ontaria Wilson
Injured Reserve: Allen Lazard
PUP: Irv Charles

It feels likely at this point that Lazard lands on injured reserve. He’s been out since injuring his shoulder against Green Bay in the preseason opener. If/when that happens, it opens up a potential spot on the 53 for someone like Brandon Smith or Skinner, both of whom have been standouts throughout training camp. Skinner had an impressive touchdown catch against the Giants and followed that up in practice by making some similarly impressive catches down the field — which is his strength as a big-bodied (6-foot-5) receiver with deep speed.

“Q’s done a great job of making plays,” Fields said. “He’s a big body. He’s a smooth route runner, solid hands and he can go up and get it.”


Brandon Smith has proven himself to be a more well-rounded receiver, making plays in the middle of the field; during joint practices against the Giants he even received some reps with the first-team offense, which was notable. He’s not as much of a threat down the field, so if the Jets are choosing between Skinner and Smith it probably comes down to what kind of receiver they prefer stylistically. I ultimately went with Skinner because he’s younger (at 23, Smith is 26) and Glenn went out of his way to shout him out after the Eagles game. He’s made plays down the field all summer and the Jets don’t have many viable deep threats. Smith is more likely to make it through to the practice squad.

The other spot of intrigue is the battle between Pritchett and Gipson. Pritchett had out-performed Gipson throughout camp at wide receiver though hadn’t made much of a dent as a returner — until Friday. He muffed his first punt and was tackled for a loss, but followed that up with a 41-yard-return and later had a 25-yard reception. Gipson (shoulder) is banged up and didn’t play and hasn’t done anything of note during camp, either. Glenn clearly took note of how Pritchett performed on Friday, calling him “resilient” and said “I can’t say that he’s a lock but I’ll tell you what, he put himself in position for us to really see where he fits.”

As for Corley: You can usually tell what a coaching staff feels about a player both by the reps he’s getting and in the way they talk about him. I don’t recall a single instance of Corley getting reps with the first-team offense during camp, and wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson gave him a tepid endorsement (at best) on Wednesday: “He’s been doing well,” Jefferson said. “I need to do a better job of getting him more opportunities. Um, he fell a little behind, brand new system, he’s been playing catch up. But he’s doing fine.”

The Jets were looking at wide receivers on the trade market earlier this week and likely will be scouring the league to find someone worth adding to this group, though I’m not sure the available options are particularly intriguing unless they could pry someone like Alec Pierce away from the Colts, which seems unlikely. A name to keep an eye on: Lions wide receiver Tim Patrick, who could be cut and has ties to both Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand from Detroit and Mougey from being in Denver last year.

 

Tight End (3)
In: Mason Taylor, Stone Smartt, Jeremy Ruckert
Out: Zack Kuntz, Neal Johnson

If the Jets had any real competition for Ruckert at tight end I’m not sure he’d be making the initial 53; he has not had the summer the Jets were hoping for, as a pass catcher or blocker. It’s conceivable that the Jets ultimately view Beck as their third tight end — or a tight end/fullback hybrid — which would then make sense if they move on from Ruckert, especially since Beck is the better blocker and more reliable.

Taylor projects as a well-rounded tight end and Smartt is purely a pass catcher. Ruckert’s role needs to be as a dependable blocker, which he has not shown himself to be either this summer or over his first three NFL seasons. This is a position I suspect Mougey will be monitoring on the waiver wire after roster cuts.

Offensive Line (9)
In: Olu Fashanu, Armand Membou, Alijah Vera-Tucker, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Josh Myers, Chukwuma Okorafor, Max Mitchell, Xavier Newman
Out: Carter Warren, Kohl Levao, Leander Wiegand, Samuel Jackson, Liam Fornadel, Marquis Hayes

This group has felt fairly locked in. The only wrinkle I could really see is if Newman or Mitchell don’t make the cut because Mougey opts to add someone from the waiver wire. The offensive line has played well all summer, especially in the running game, even if the Giants joint practices showed some inconsistencies in the passing game. Still, this should be a good, potentially great, offensive line with decent depth, too.

Defensive Tackle (5)
In: Quinnen Williams, Harrison Phillips, Jay Tufele, Jowon Briggs, Leonard Taylor III
Out: Derrick Nnadi, Payton Page, Fatorma Mulbah
Injured Reserve: Byron Cowart

This group received a face lift when Mougey went on a trading spree (some on Twitter are calling it St. Fatty’s Day) and added Phillips from the Vikings and Briggs from the Browns. Phillips might be the best run stopper the Jets have put next to Williams; he’ll plug in right away as a starter and leader. Briggs flashed some serious potential at the end of last season for Cleveland and should rotate in right away as well. Cowart has been out for a few weeks now; it feels likely he’s headed for IR or at least won’t be ready to play at the start of the season.

Even if healthy, Cowart and Tufele were always better suited as rotational backups than for the roles they were in line to get. Mougey probably should have invested more at defensive tackle this offseason, but he made up for it with these two trades, especially the Phillips deal. Nnadi has been mostly invisible this summer, and since he’s a vested veteran they can always cut him and bring him back if they want. Taylor got better as the summer progressed and has flashed some potential as a pass rusher. Page had a nice start to camp but hasn’t really stood out since then.

Defensive End (5)
In: Jermaine Johnson, Will McDonald, Micheal Clemons, Eric Watts, Tyler Baron
Out: Braiden McGregor, Kingsley Jonathan, Michael Fletcher

Rashad Weaver was in line for a depth role in this group before he suffered an unknown injury and was placed on IR before cutdown day, which ends his season. Even with Weaver, depth was a serious concern at this spot (Weaver hadn’t had a sack in a game since 2022). Clemons is perfectly fine as a backup, contrary to popular belief; he’s just not suited for a bigger role like he was thrust into last year. Watts has had an up-and-down camp but he has the physical profile of someone worth developing.

If Baron wasn’t a draft pick, I’m not sure he’d be locked into a roster spot — he hasn’t shown much this summer in the way of pass-rush production. Maybe someone like McGregor can sneak in, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Mougey explored adding someone else at this spot.

Linebacker (6)
In: Quincy Williams, Jamien Sherwood, Francisco Mauigoa, Jamin Davis, Ja’Markis Weston, Marcelino McCary-Ball
Out: Zaire Barnes, Jackson Sirmon, Boog Smith

The first three are safe, and Davis flashed in the preseason and will probably stick. This Jets staff seems to value special teams a decent amount, and that’s Weston’s path to the roster, though he doesn’t really contribute much on defense. Still, this staff likes his potential as a gunner so I think he has a shot, especially in light of Kris Boyd’s season-ending injury. McCrary-Ball has made some plays throughout the summer and can contribute on special teams.

Cornerback (6)
In: Sauce Gardner, Brandon Stephens, Michael Carter II, Azareye’h Thomas, Qwan’Tez Stiggers, Jarrick Bernard-Converse
Out: Jordan Clark, Mario Goodrich

Bernard-Converse played well against the Giants last week and might have a role as a core special teamer. He’s someone with athletic tools worth developing. Bernard-Converse is someone I could see getting claimed by another team if he was waived, which is a factor in these decisions sometimes. If Stiggers was on the bubble at the start of camp, I would say that he wasn’t by the end — even though he did play on Friday night. Now that Thomas is healthy, this is back to looking like arguably the best position group on the roster.

Safety (4)
In: Andre Cisco, Tony Adams, Malachi Moore, Isaiah Oliver
Out: Jarius Monroe, Dean Clark, Tanner McCalister

The first four are easy. The question for me is whether the Jets will keep a fifth safety. I had Monroe on the last 53 because he had a nice start to camp and Glenn praised him at one point … then he went a little cold and didn’t play particularly well in the first two preseason games. He did play better against the Eagles and even got some snaps at cornerback, which is notable. Clark had a stellar game against the Giants (one interception, one sack) and was one of the higher-rated undrafted rookies coming out of this year’s class, so he made a late charge for the roster. But ultimately I went with McCrary-Ball at linebacker over a fifth safety since he has had a better summer overall.

Special Teams (3)
In: K Nick Folk, P Austin McNamara, LS Thomas Hennessy
Out: K Harrison Mevis

Mevis spent one practice this week as the Jets’ sole punter as McNamara sat out for unknown reasons. It would not surprise me at all if Mevis ultimately made his way to the practice squad if another team doesn’t sign him — especially if he can act as the backup punter too.