Cutting Down

Edition #687

Good morning! ☕

We’re going to keep it short and sweet this morning after I had a bit of a mare getting to Cologne yesterday, thanks in large part to Eurostar cancelling my train an hour or two before we were due to travel. We did get there, but very late and with two kids who had passes breaking point about 3 hours earlier.

We have some cuts to talk about and even a trade, which is somewhat surprising considering the partner.

🟢Robert Saleh was talking about Jordan Travis who is starting the season on the non-football injury list - "His rehab is going to be a little longer than we anticipated, but he's in a great place," Saleh said. "He's in every meeting, he goes to all the walkthroughs. Hopefully it's something we can revisit later in the year."

⚪ With no space on the roster for Brandon Codrington the Jets recouped some draft capital for him, but did so by sending him to a division rival. Codrington had himself a fine pre-season with averages of 13.8 and 37.5 yards on punts and kickoffs. With Gipson the return man, the Jets received a 2026 sixth-round pick and a 2026 seventh-rounder from the Bills for Codrington, good work for a UDFA returner. The last time we saw a trade between these two teams, Walk Like An Egyptian by the Bangles was the talk of the town (1987). I like Codrington and I wish we could have found a spot for him, but I’m happy the guy is going to get an opportunity somewhere and we got something in return.

🟢 Will Reddick show up for week one? Who knows. Saleh had this to say about it all - "I'm assuming he's in phenomenal shape," he said. "He's a veteran, he knows what he needs to get ready. He's had success in multiple buildings in multiple schemes with multiple coaching staffs, so he's going to know what he needs to do to be ready for Week 1, so he still has plenty of time."

⚪ This is an interesting piece from ESPN which surveyed 103 NFL players on the QB position, they were given anonymity so they could respond candidly. Aaron Rodgers received 32 votes when it came to the best three current QBs in the NFL. Josh Allen came out top on the most overrated list, although that was only with 11 votes with it being spread wide. Josh Allen also came out top on the biggest trash-talking list, which is probably linked to him getting votes for most overrated.

It’s important to remember that this is just the initial roster and can change at any moment. But as of today, this is your 2024 Jets roster.

Quarterback (2): Aaron Rodgers, Tyrod Taylor

Running Back (4): Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, Israel Abanikanda

Wide Receiver (7): Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, Xavier Gipson, Allen Lazard, Malachi Corley, Irv Charles, Jason Brownlee

Tight End (2): Tyler Conklin, Jeremy Ruckert

Offensive Line (10): Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Morgan Moses, Olu Fashanu, Wes Schweitzer, Carter Warren, Xavier Newman-Johnson, Max Mitchell

Defensive End (6): Jermaine Johnson, Will McDonald, Micheal Clemons, Takk McKinley, Braiden McGregor, Eric Watts

Defensive Tackle (4): Quinnen Williams, Javon Kinlaw, Solomon Thomas, Leonard Taylor

Linebacker (5): CJ Mosley, Quincy Williams, Jamien Sherwood, Chazz Surratt, Zaire Barnes

Cornerback (6) : Sauce Gardner, DJ Reed, Michael Carter II, Brandin Echols, Jarrick Bernard-Converse, Qwan’tez Stiggers

Safety (4): Tony Adams, Chuck Clark, Ashtyn Davis, Isaiah Oliver

Special Teams (3): Greg Zuerlein, Thomas Morstead, Thomas Hennessy

Injured Reserve (2): Leki Fotu, Kenny Yeboah

Non Football Injury List (1): Jordan Travis

Reserve/Did Not Report List (1): Haason Reddick

Are there any real surprises on here? I guess only keeping two tight ends is somewhat of a surprise but we did say that it was a possibility. Yeboah being on IR probably helped that decision.

We did have three UDFA’s make the roster and that is something we projected last week. Massive congratulations to Taylor, McGregor and Watts who each made the cut. It’s clear that Saleh, Ulbrich and Whitecotton see potential in all of them but someone like Watts is probably in danger once Reddick returns.

Also very happy for Qwan’tez Stiggers, his story is an interesting one and he’s certainly done things the hard way…but he made the most of his opportunities and now he gets an opportunity to carve out a role. His ability on special teams will certainly help, especially now Justin Hardee is elsewhere.

As expected the Jets are going with two quarterbacks instead of three. Unfortunately neither Martinez nor Peasley made a big enough statement to give the Jets something to think about. They both had a ton of opportunities to force a tough decision on management, but in the end I imagine this was a pretty easy decision.

There are five linebackers on the roster and we know how much Saleh loves Surratt and I’m sure that went a long way towards that decision, as will the input of special teams coordinator Brant Boyer.

It’s far too early to made any bold exclamations, but this is a roster I feel extremely comfortable with. It doesn’t have a ton of holes and it has both immediate impact and long-term potential. Now we’ll see just how good we are with San Francisco up on deck.

Here’s just a quick reminder of the players who were cut yesterday

Waived/released:

QB Adrian Martinez, Andrew Peasley

RB Xazavian Valladay, Deon Jackson

WR Tyler Harrell, Lance McCutcheon, Brandon Smith, Isaiah Winstead

TE Anthony Firkser, Zack Kuntz, Lincoln Sefcik

OL Austin Deculus, Obinna Eze, Chris Glaser, Jake Hanson, Brady Latham, Kohl Levao, Willie Tyler III,

DL Jaylen Twyman, Jalyn Holmes, Bruce Hector, Tanzel Smart,

LB Sam Eguavoen, Anthony Hines III, Marcelino McCrary-Ball, Jackson Sirmon,

S Jaylen Key, Al Blades Jr., Jarius Monroe

CB Tre Swilling, Shemar Bartholomew, Kendall Sheffield, Nehemiah Shelton

PK Austin Seibert