Head coach Robert Saleh said earlier this week that the New York Jets would be considering “personnel changes” in the hopes of adding a spark on offense following another disappointing showing in their 16-12 Week 10 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. On Tuesday, the Jets already starting making a mark on those changes by releasing running back Michael Carter.
Carter was released following a performance Sunday that saw him play just nine snaps on offense, mainly on third down, and commit a chop-block foul in the third quarter. That ended up being his final snap as a Jet.
The Jets were expected to make changes on offense, but one would have thought the Jets would simply bench Carter to allow rookie Israel Abanikanda to start seeing the field more after being a weekly inactive this season. Instead, the Jets made a statement that they are serious about trying to take a step forward on offense by simply removing Carter from the equation altogether and releasing him. That should give the Jets the ability to use the speed of Abanikanda as a compliment to Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook, who should also see more action going forward after showing improvement in limited snaps Sunday.
Carter’s release comes on the same day of a reported players-only meeting Tuesday, a meeting wide receiver Garrett Wilson and tight end Tyler Conklin hinted after the loss Sunday could happen soon. In the end, Carter ends up the odd man out in New York.
Carter was drafted in the fourth round out of North Carolina in the 2021 NFL Draft and showed some promise early in his career. Carter led the Jets in rushing with 639 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per attempt. He also caught 36 passes for 325 yards. That’s almost 1,000 total yards from scrimmage as a rookie.
The Jets would go on to draft Hall out of Iowa State in the second round in 2022. Carter stuck around and was eventually needed when Hall suffered a torn ACL in Week 7. However, Carter began struggling and the Jets started utilizing rookie Bam Knight into the offense. In the end, Hall led the Jets in rushing last season with 463 yards, despite playing in only seven games.
2023 saw the Jets add Cook and Abanikanda to the mix to build up the running back room and allow the team to be cautious with Hall. Carter, on the other hand, never really factored into the plans. There was speculation he was even on the roster bubble but would eventually take hold of the No. 3 spot with Abanikanda as the No. 4, leaving Knight as the odd man out.
It took a bit for the Jets to piece together their running back room. They seem to have a nice foundation going forward. Unfortunately for Carter, his drop in production — dropped passes and silly penalties don’t help either — mean he won’t be a part of that foundation going forward. He’ll latch on somewhere else, but he ends up an example as the Jets try to turn the ship around in time to make a playoff push.