Prior to tonight’s game against the Dolphins, the Jets have made a change to their 53-man roster, promoting tight end Chris Pantale off their practice squad and cutting linebacker Antwan Barnes to make room, the club announced (Twitter link).
While Barnes was a more frequent contributor in previous stints with the Ravens and the Chargers, compiling 11 sacks and 41 tackles during the 2011 season in San Diego, he hasn’t played much for the Jets during the last two seasons. That’s due in large part to injuries — Barnes tore his ACL five weeks into the 2013 season, and started this year on the physically unable to perform list before being activated in mid-October. After returning to action, the 30-year-old, who doesn’t play on special teams, saw the field for just 57 defensive snaps.
Rookie tight end Jace Amaro will miss tonight’s game with a concussion, so it makes sense that the Jets would add a tight end to the roster for depth purposes. The move leaves the team with an opening on its practice squad, which will likely be filled later in the week. As a vested veteran, of course, Barnes isn’t eligible for the squad.