One day after releasing them in order to get their roster down to 53 players, the Jets signed offensive lineman Josh Andrews, tight end Daniel Brown, safety Matthias Farley, cornerback Nate Hairston and back to the team’s active roster on Monday.
In order to make room for Andrews, Brown, Farley and Hairston, New York placed offensive lineman Cameron Clark (shoulder/knee), linebacker Patrick Onwuasor (knee), wide receivers Jeff Smith (shoulder) and Vyncint Smith (core muscle surgery), and defensive lineman/outside linebacker Jabari Zuniga (quad) on injured reserve.
With the new injured reserve rules in place, players are allowed to return to practice after three weeks of being on the shelf, which would make them eligible for a Week 4 return. Getting back some reinforcements at wide receiver in Week 4 could be a crucial boost for the Jets as they have a short week with a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Broncos.
Both Smith’s showed flashes of promise throughout training camp, but also fell victim to the barrage of injuries that decimated the wide receiver room. Between injuries to both Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims and both Braxton Berrios and Jamison Crowder banged up, New York may have to rely on both undrafted free agent wideouts to play some significant snaps early in the year.
Onwuasor sustained a non-contact knee injury in training camp, but doesn’t have any ligament damage. He’s out 4-5 weeks and for the time being, leaves the Jets thin at inside linebacker with only three players — Avery Williamson, Blake Cahsman and Neville Hewittt — that remain healthy. Zuniga, New York’s third-round pick out of Florida missed the majority of training camp dealing with a quad injury. Clark, a fourth-round pick out of Charlotte, has been banged up with a shoulder and knee injury.
The new rules allow Gang Green to demonstrate some roster flexibility before the start of the season. By placing five players on injured reserve and adding just four, New York has one remaining roster spot to add another depth piece prior to Sunday’s game against the Bills.