There’s little room for error when you’re a punt returner. The Jets announced on Tuesday that they have released Kalif Raymond after his costly punt return fumble over the weekend.
The Jets got shellacked by the Raiders in Oakland and they’re hanging at least some of the blame on Raymond’s shaky hands. He muffed a punt towards the end of the first half and the Raiders quickly turned his error into a touchdown. Instead of going into the locker room down 14-10 (or perhaps in better shape than that, if the Jets ran an effective two minute drill), the Raiders took a 21-10 advantage. Things only got worse in the second act, of course, as Marshawn Lynch threw a dance party and the Raiders won 45-20.
Raymond was cut loose by Denver on cutdown weekend but was claimed off waivers by the Jets the next day. The Jets had top five waiver priority and it’s possible that other clubs submitted claims on him.