Cutting an NFL roster from 80 players to 53 is never easy, especially when you have the talent (and homegrown talent, at that) as the Jets do. That held especially true when the Jets had to make decisions at the safety position, decisions that really stressed Jets general manager Joe Douglas.
“Honestly, felt like we had six 53-man worthy safeties,” Douglas told reporters this week. “So, that was probably one of the more excruciating cutdowns to go from the numbers we had to four.”
There was a lot of talk regarding the cuts at the safety position, namely Jason Pinnock, who had been viewed by many as the No. 3 safety behind Jordan Whitehead and Lamarcus Joyner. Pinnock is now a member of the New York Giants.
Will Parks was also a surprise cut. He had seemed to have been ahead of Ashtyn Davis for one of the reserve safety spots. Instead, he was cut in favor of Davis and undrafted free agent Tony Adams but cleared waivers and is back with the Jets on their practice squad.
The key factor for Douglas in deciding which safeties to keep? Special teams.
“Ultimately, a lot that went into that decision was, outside the two starters, special teams was going to be a large component of that, in terms of the two backups. Obviously, we wanted to get them all back here in some capacity, whether it was on the 53 or on the practice squad, really excited to have Will Parks back on the practice squad. Obviously, would’ve been great to get Jason (Pinnock) back here as well on the practice squad, but happy for him that he’s going to have a great opportunity across town.”
With how much focus there was on the safety position and their cuts this summer, this will be one of the more fascinating positions to follow as the season progresses, as well as checking in on the progress of Pinnock with the Giants.