The Jets are currently sitting at 53 players and while this 53 certainly won’t be the 53 going forward, there were still some surprises among those that did or did not make the first cut. Let’s run through a couple of those surprises here.
WR Irvin Charles makes cut as Jets keep 7 wide receivers
For most of camp, the thought was that the Jets would keep six wide receivers. Then Corey Davis stepped away from football so plans had to change a bit but six still felt like the magic number. Turns out that was one short. The Jets kept seven wide receivers including Irvin Charles and undrafted rookies Xavier Gipson and Jason Brownlee.
Gipson isn’t much of a surprise anymore. He took hold of the punt return role and easily made the cut. Brownlee struggled a bit as the preseason began and went forward but the Jets still saw enough to keep him around.
Charles is intriguing because he didn’t have as much buzz as Brownlee or even Malik Taylor to get in. But Charles has been around and was called up to the active roster in Week 18 last season. The question becomes will be stick around when more moves are made.
The Jets currently don’t have a punter…but relax, Morstead will be back
The Jets currently don’t have a punter. Thomas Morstead was among those cut to get down to 53. Panic mode? No. The surprise here is that some people think the Jets are actually moving on from Morstead. The opposite is true. Morstead should still be the Jets’ punter.
He even posted on X that fans should relax. There’s clearly some like of handshake deal here where the Jets would cut Morstead and then bring him right back once other moves are made — Carter Warren likely heading to injured reserve for example.
So while the initial shock of no punter was felt, it’ll quickly die off once he comes back. Same could go for fullback Nick Bawden.
Jets keep four tight ends again
The Jets really love tight end Kenny Yeboah and while our final 53-man projection had Yeboah making the roster, it is still interesting to see that the Jets did indeed keep four tight ends given what they kept elsewhere.
They did cut Nick Bawden, who could have acted as a fourth tight end but the Jets could also bring him right back. They also kept seven wide receivers and five linebackers, one more than expected by some at both spots, especially wide receiver.
Still, Yeboah is a key part of their special teams and that’s what have him a shot to stick around.
Despite being banged up during preseason, Chazz Surratt gets in
Linebacker Chazz Surratt had a nice showing in the Hall of Fame Game and started making the fourth linebacker spot a competition against 6th-round rookie Zaire Barnes. Or so we thought.
Surratt was banged up since then and thought to be losing ground on Barnes and destined for the practice squad again. Or so we thought.
Surratt made the initial 53 as the Jets kept five linebackers, at least giving them some depth there for now. Granted, having just a 6th-round rookie in Barnes behind C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood would have been a tough ask.
But with looming moves — bringing back Thomas Morstead and Brandin Echols — will Surratt hang around?
