Tag: Matthias Farley

Jets place 5 on IR to make room for Josh Andrews, Daniel Brown, Matthias Farley and Nate Hairston

The Jets placed five players on injured reserve to make room for Josh Andrews, Daniel Brown, Nate Hairston and Matthias Farley.

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.

The 4 biggest surprises from a weekend of Jets roster moves

Jets Wire breaks down four surprising moves the Jets made during cut weekend.

The Jets were busy at work over the weekend, cutting down their 80-man training camp roster to 53 with the regular season less than a week away.

Throughout the weekend, Adam Gase and Joe Douglas had 27 tough decisions to make. Some were easy, while others likely took hours of deliberation. Some were also downright head-scratching.

With that being said, here are four of the biggest surprises from New York’s weekend of roster moves.

Cutting Jonotthan Harrison

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

In three years with the Jets, Jonotthan Harrison served as nothing but a reliable offensive lineman who produced when his number was called. That was not enough to save his job, though, as he was among New York’s first round of cuts on Friday night.

The decision to cut Harrison leaves the Jets without a true reserve center and down a leader, one Sam Darnold pinpointed as an invaluable presence in the locker room.

“For the last 2½ years, for lack of a better term, he’s been kind of like an older brother to me, showing me the ropes,” Darnold told ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “It’s been fun, man, watching him come to work every day. He works harder than anyone I know. Jon is an incredible human being, a great leader and a great friend. He understands how much of a business football is. That’s how we both have to look at it, but it does suck.”

New York will undoubtedly miss Harrison on and off the field. It’s tough to argue against Joe Douglas’ reasoning when it comes to offensive line personnel, but this decision is one that leaves plenty of questions.

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2020 New York Jets Position Preview: Safety

Jets Wire breaks down New York’s safety room with training camp and the 2020 season approaching.

With the NFLPA player reps officially approving the NFL’s proposal and training camp just a short ways away, it’s time to take a closer look at the makeup of the Jets’ roster entering the 2020 season.

After trading away Jamal Adams in a blockbuster deal to Seattle on Saturday, the Jets are left with a trio of safeties who can all contribute immediately. Marcus Maye is coming off one of the best seasons of his career after an injury-plagued 2018 left him with just six games. The newly acquired Bradley McDougald was a leader in Seattle’s secondary, making his mark as a sure tackler and box safety for the Seahawks. As for Ashtyn Davis, the versatile chess piece figures to play himself into the equation.

As training camp and the beginning of the regular season inch closer, Jets Wire will provide a look at each of New York’s position groups and what could be in store for the unit in 2020. Let’s break down the safety room at One Jets Drive.

The Starters

With Adams’ departure, Maye is the team’s longest-tenured safety and figures to maintain his position as Gregg Williams’ centerfielder playing deep.

Maye finished his 2019 campaign with 65 combined tackles, a career-high seven passes defended, one interception and one tackle for a loss. Pro Football Focus graded Maye 17th among the 85 safeties who qualified. He ranked 18th in coverage.

The Jets’ fourth-year safety made his money as the team’s last line of defense. Maye was responsible for some big-time plays in the Jets’ wins over the Cowboys and Steelers. In the Jets’ Week 16 victory over Pittsburgh, Maye made a game-saving play in coverage, breaking up a game-winning touchdown catch from James Washington with less than a minute remaining.

McDougald, meanwhile, figure to replace Adams. He is another player, who Williams can move all around the field, but he figures to be New York’s best complement to Maye.

Over the past two seasons, McDougald has quietly been one of the best man-coverage safeties in the NFL. According to Pro Football Focus, since 2018, McDougald’s 85.4 man coverage grade ranks fourth among safeties who have played at least 100 snaps of man coverage. Additionally, per PFF, McDougald’s 62.7 passer rating allowed in man coverage ranks fifth among safeties who have been targeted at least 20 times.

Depth

Davis, the Jets’ third-round pick out of Cal, should see plenty of action this season as the Jets groom him to become an eventual starter.

Davis is a versatile speedster with great instincts. While Davis’ home may be as a true centerfielder, he certainly has the speed, range and physical capabilities to play wherever Gang Green needs him to be in 2020 and beyond. He’s the perfect piece of clay for Williams to mold.

Matthias Farley is currently New York’s backup at the strong safety position, but he’s primarily viewed as a special teams player. Among the other players competing for jobs in the secondary are Bennett Jackson and Anthony Cioffi, who are both likely bubble players.

Outlook

In both Maye and McDougald, New York should have two sure-fire tacklers who can be blankets in coverage, assisting a weak cornerback group. Adams is a huge loss, but New York isn’t downgrading too much when considering what McDougald can bring to the table from a coverage standpoint.

Maye, McDougald and Davis have dealt with injuries between their pro and collegiate careers, so it’s good to have three safeties who should all eventually be capable starters.

See more from Jets Wire’s Position Previews series:

QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | MLB | OLB

10 Jets players in danger of being cut prior to training camp

Jets Wire takes a look at 10 players who could be released before the beginning of training camp on Thursday.

With the NFL expected to adopt a smaller offseason roster in the coming days, numerous Jets players on the roster bubble entering training camp are in danger of being cut before they even make it to One Jets Drive.

In an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, offseason rosters could be reduced from 90 players to 80 or less for training camp. The NFL and NFLPA have already agreed to cancel the preseason, indicating that a smaller offseason roster could be the next measure the league takes in an effort to reduce the risk of players contracting coronavirus.

Smaller offseason rosters would mean pink slips being handed out before the beginning of camp. Jets rookies have already reported to Florham Park, but the rest of the team is scheduled to arrive on Thursday. That gives New York five days to cut its roster down by 10 or more players.

So, which Jets players could be in danger of being cut before the beginning of training camp? Here are 10 that could be shown the door before Thursday.

Avery Williamson

Syndication: North Jersey

Avery Williamson was already facing an uphill battle for his roster spot entering training camp. Now, his departure out of the Big Apple could be expedited.

Williamson missed all of 2019 due to a torn ACL, putting his future with the Jets in flux. Blake Cashman shined as a rookie in Williamson’s place, while New York added C.J. Mosley’s former running mate, Patrick Onwuasor, in free agency this offseason. That does not necessarily mean Williamson is on his way out, but it puts him behind the eight ball when it comes to making the 53-man roster.

Considering Williamson’s already-slim chances of breaking camp with the Jets, Joe Douglas and company could do him and the organization a favor by releasing him before Thursday. The Jets said that Williamson would get a chance to compete for a job in the preseason, but that can’t happen now that there won’t be one.

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Jets roster serving as a stable for ex-Colts

The Jets have 11 former Colts players on their roster.

You might as well call the Jets the New York Colts with the amount of former Indianapolis players on the roster.

The Jets have 11 former Colts players under contract. That includes Thomas Hennessy, Matthias Farley, Nate Hairston, Arthur Maulet, Quincy Wilson, Ross Travis, Henry Anderson, Tarell Basham, Pierre Desir, Jonotthan Harrison and Josh Andrews.

Of these 11 players, six of them were acquired under Joe Douglas and five under Mike Maccagnan. Farley, Hairston, Wilson, Travis, Desir and Andrews are Douglas guys while Hennessy, Maulet, Anderson, Basham and Harrison are Maccagnan’s doing.

Not many of the former Colts have made a huge impact with the Jets. Hennessy has been the most consistent player as the Jets’ long snapper for the past few years. Anderson had a good first season with the Jets with seven sacks but followed that up with a lousy 2019 season. Basham started to come on last season.

Harrison, meanwhile, has been in and out as a starter on the offensive line. Hairston was a major disappointment last year and Farley barely stepped foot on the field. Maulet was a solid depth piece at cornerback and made some good plays on special teams. Desir, Wilson, Andrews and Travis have yet to put on a Jets uniform.

New York seems to have a good relationship with the folks over in Indianapolis. Not only did the two teams pull off a couple of trades this past season, but Maccagnan traded with the Colts before the 2018 draft to move up to the third overall pick. That pick, of course, turned into Sam Darnold.

Jets vs. Ravens inactives: New York missing numerous starters against Baltimore

Jets vs. Ravens inactives for Thursday night football in Week 15.

If you thought the Jets were missing a lot of impact players against the Miami Dolphins in Week 14, think again.

New York will be without eight starters against the Ravens on Thursday night, as Jamal Adams, Quinnen Williams, Chuma Edoga, Brian Poole, Demaryius Thomas, Arthur Maulet, Kyron Brown and Ryan Griffin are all out against Baltimore due to injuries. Brown (quad) was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Monday after making his first career start against Miami, while Griffin (ankle) became the latest Jet to hit IR on Thursday. In a corresponding move to fill Griffin’s roster spot, the Jets activated offensive lineman Brent Qvale off injured reserve.

Le’Veon Bell returns to the field against the Ravens after a bout with the flu that kept him out of action against the Dolphins, but Bilal Powell is out with an ankle injury and the flu. That leaves Bell and Ty Montgomery to shoulder the load for New York out of the backfield.

The Jets will also have Henry Anderson, Kelvin Beachum, Matthias Farley, Steve McLendon, Nathan Shepherd and Montgomery suited up in Week 15 despite all six players being listed as questionable leading up to the game. Whether or not any of the six can make an impact remains to be seen, but they are all required to dress New York is required to have a minimum of 46 players suited up.

As for the Ravens, they’ll be without starting offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley, who sits due to a concussion. Tight end Mark Andrews and safety Andrew Levine will all play for Baltimore despite being listed as questionable entering Thursday.