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The Jets made three practice squad moves on Thursday, including the addition of an experienced fullback.
The Jets made three practice squad moves on Thursday, including the addition of an experienced fullback.
Former Lion Nick Bawden signed to Gang Green’s squad following a workout on Wednesday. The addition of the fullback could spell trouble for Trevon Wesco.
The Jets placed DE Ronald Blair on practice squad injured reserve to make room for Bawden. The team also signed S Sheldrick Redwine to the squad after waiving him on Wednesday.
Position battles will rage on in the Jets’ preseason finale against the Eagles.
Preseason play is deemed mostly insignificant for players locked into roster spots. Other than taking some repetitions against competition as a tune-up, preseason games are no more than a formality before the beginning of the regular season for starters and key reserves.
The same cannot be said for players squarely on the roster bubble. In fact, the preseason is the most important time of the year for any player fighting to make a team. The Jets’ starters will play a half at the most and go through the motions in their preseason finale against the Eagles, but it becomes survival of the fittest once the reserves enter.
Here are seven Jets who are looking to make the most of their playing time against the Eagles to either get back to top form, help their standing on the depth chart, or do enough to improve their chances of avoiding the ax before cutdown day, which is just around the corner.
After releasing a 53-man roster prediction following Week 2 of the preseason, we at Jets Wire explained our toughest cuts.
Training camp and the preseason is the time for players to establish themselves as contributors and lock down roster spots.
It is also the place where NFL dreams sometimes go to die.
The Jets can only carry 53 players once the beginning of the regular season arrives — a far cry from the number they currently have in the building with training camp nearing its end. New York would likely prefer to keep more than 53 players around considering the talent it has at One Jets Drive, but that is not how things work in professional football.
Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh are going to have some excruciating decisions to make at the end of August. Which players did just enough to make the 53-man squad? Which players fell just short and will now have to seek a new opportunity elsewhere? Those questions will be answered after countless hours of watching film and deliberating.
We at Jets Wire took a crack at projecting the 53-man roster after Saturday’s preseason Week 2 action against the Packers. All of the cuts predicted in that piece can be seen directly below, followed by explanations for the toughest severances.
Jeremiah Valoaga last played for Robert Saleh in San Francisco. Now the two are reuniting with the Jets.
The Jets continued adding to their defensive line Tuesday.
Gang Green signed former 49ers defensive end Jeremiah Valoaga, according to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano. Valoaga last played in 2019 after opting out of the 2020 season. He played in four games for Robert Saleh’s defensive unit from Weeks 13-16, tallying two tackles and one pass breakup in 44 snaps.
Valoaga was a member of the Raiders when he opted out last season.
The 6-foot-6, 275-pound defender began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent for the Lions in 2017. He recorded five tackles, five quarterback hits and one sack in nine games.
Valoaga now joins a crowded defensive line group filled with talent. He will have a chance to carve out a role in training camp, but he looks more like a practice squad possibility for the Jets.
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The New York Jets added free agent DL Ronald Blair, a favorite of the San Francisco 49ers’ coaching staff.
There will be no reunion between the 49ers and free agent defensive end Ronald Blair. He’s instead reuniting with former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and signing with the New York Jetssigning with the New York Jets according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Blair didn’t play at all in 2020 because of complications with surgery on the ACL he tore during Week 10 of the 2019 campaign.
San Francisco selected Blair in Round 5 of the 2016 draft, one year before Saleh and head coach Kyle Shanahan arrived in the Bay Area. Still, he was a favorite among the coaching staff and carved out a nice role as a rotational defensive lineman. Blair in 47 games with the 49ers racked up 13.5 sacks. 10 of those came in 31 games with Saleh orchestrating the defense.
Saleh in 2019 said of Blair, “If you like winning, you like Ronnie Blair.If you like winning, you like Ronnie Blair.”
Blair was an integral part of the 49ers’ strong defensive line in 2019, but he tore his ACL in Week 10 against the Seahawks while pulling quarterback Russell Wilson down for a sack. He never suited up again for San Francisco.
There was a report earlier this offseason that the 49ers were set to re-sign Blair49ers were set to re-sign Blair, after he took a physical, to help bolster a thin defensive end group. There’s no indication as to how the physical went, but he never did put pen to paper with his former club. Now he’ll try and return to the field in New York.
Blair missed all of 2020 with an injury but played the previous three seasons under Robert Saleh.
The Jets have signed former 49ers defensive end Ronald Blair, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
A Robert Saleh favorite, Blair spent the 2020 season on injured reserve. He had spent the four seasons prior to that with the 49ers after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Blair is another quality backup pass rusher for the Jets’ front seven with experience getting to the quarterback. He tallied 13.5 sacks and 27 quarterback hits before tearing his ACL midway through the 2019 season.
Blair joins a defensive line group full of talented players, including Carl Lawson, John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff and Vinny Curry on the ends. There’s also Quinnen Williams, Foley Fatukasi and Sheldon Rankins in the interior.
It will be interesting to see how Jeff Ulbrich utilizes this bevy of defensive linemen throughout the season. It’s the deepest collection of players the Jets have had at the position in a long time.
Blair has never played more than 534 snaps in any season in which he played a full 16 games, so he shouldn’t be more than a rotational piece. He does add another level of support for the defense, though, which will be critical to the Jets’ success in 2021.
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The San Francisco 49ers are set to add some much-needed depth to their defensive line with DE Ronald Blair.
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The 49ers are adding more depth to their defensive line via free agency with three weeks left before the NFL draft. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan on Thursday reported free agent defensive end Ronald Blair was set to rejoin San Francisco.
Blair missed all of the 2020 season because of a setback in his rehab from an ACL tear he suffered in Week 10 of the 2019 campaign. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said something went wrong during the surgery and forced Blair to sit out the season.
The 49ers drafted Blair in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, and he carved out a nice role as a rotational defensive end during his tenure with the club. He had 13.5 sacks in 47 games his first two seasons, and now he enters a defensive line room that desperately needs help on the edges. Blair played a career-high 50 percent of the 49ers’ defensive snaps in 2018, but his other three years he’s been around the 20-to-25 percent mark. If he can get back to that range and produce, he’ll be a nice addition for San Francisco.
The San Francisco 49ers made a couple roster moves a few days before free agency begins.
The San Francisco 49ers on Friday announced a pair of roster moves that saw one player return and another get an early head start on free agency.
Exclusive rights free agent OL Daniel Brunskill was tendered a one-year contract, while unrestricted-free-agent-to-be DE Ronald Blair was released.
Brunskill will get a chance to compete for the starting right guard spot again, but he may find himself in the mix at center depending on how the team’s offseason shakes out. The former tackle saw action in 14 games with seven starts as a rookie, filling in at right tackle for Mike McGlinchey, left tackle for Joe Staley and at right guard for Mike Person. He played well in both roles, but ultimately earned the starting right guard job for the 2020 season.
Injuries on the offensive line eventually forced Brunskill to slide to center where he had less success than he had as a guard. Still, he started all 16 games and forced his way into the conversation as a long-term option in San Francisco’s offensive front. If he contributes again this year he could see a longer-term contract next offseason.
Blair didn’t play at all in 2020 after suffering a torn ACL in Week 10 of the 2019 campaign. It looked like he might return last season, but a setback and a problem with his surgically repaired knee wound up sidelining him for the entire year.
He was due to hit unrestricted free agency when the new league year opens March 17, but now he gets a head start on choosing his next team by getting released before free agency begins. Blair would not have been allowed to negotiate with other clubs until March 15 at 1:00pm Pacific Time had San Francisco not released him.
Blair, a fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft, racked up 13.5 sacks in 47 games for the 49ers. He also posted 88 tackles, including 22 for a loss.
San Francisco 49ers players Ronald Blair and Weston Richburg suffered setbacks in their injury recoveries and are probably out for the season.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday revealed in a video conference with reporters that defensive lineman Ronald Blair and center Weston Richburg are probably out for the season due to setbacks in their respective recoveries. Richburg and Blair have spent the entirety of the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
The 49ers had been optimistic that Blair and/or Richburg could return at some point this season, suggesting Weeks 10-12 were a target for their return just over a month ago. However, that is clearly no longer the case.
Blair suffered a torn ACL over a year ago in the 49ers 27-24 Week 10 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In 9 games last season, Blair recorded 21 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. A solid rotational defensive lineman since he was drafted in the 5th round of the 2016 draft, the 49ers depleted defensive line could have used his reinforcement.
Richburg suffered a torn patellar tendon in the 49ers 48-46 win against the New Orleans Saints last season. He has not played since. Signed to a 5-year, $47.5 million contract to be the team’s starting center before 2018, Richburg has been a stabilizing force on the offensive line when healthy but has been sorely missed this season.
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49ers DE Ronald Blair won’t be available for at least the first six weeks of the season with a knee injury from last year.
The 49ers won’t have defensive end Ronald Blair for at least the first six weeks of this season. Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reported Saturday that Blair will begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, where he’s been since the start of training camp.
Blair suffered a torn ACL in Week 10 last season and won’t be fully ready until closer to the middle of this year. While he’s on the PUP list he won’t be able to practice or play in games for the first six weeks. After six weeks his practice window can open, at which point the team has three weeks to decide whether to activate him or put him on season-ending Injured Reserve.
While on PUP, Blair also won’t count against the 49ers’ 53-man roster. His absence likely ensures a player like Dion Jordan will make his way onto the team.
Blair was a fifth-round pick out of Appalachian State in 2017, and he’s carved out a role as an effective reserve edge rusher who can also play some on the interior. He has 13.5 sacks and 22 tackles for loss in 47 career games.
