Mychealon Thomas

Jets Officially Cut 18 Players

The Jets’ roster is now at 71 players after the club announced 18 cuts today. Like all NFL teams, New York will need to reduce to 53 players by Saturday afternoon. Several of the following transactions were reported earlier today, but we’ll list them here as well:

Waived:

Released:

Jets Release Kevin Minter

The Jets are cleaning house in advance of Saturday’s roster deadline. On Friday, Gang Green released the following players (via Manish Mehta of the Daily NewsRalph Vacchiano of SNY, and Darryl Slater of NJ.com.):

Minter is one of the bigger names in the bunch and one of the biggest surprises. Minter seemed likely to make the team as an inside linebacker, but evidently didn’t do enough to win the job. Minter‘s signed a one-year, $880K deal with the Jets in April, but the team won’t be on the hook for much more than his $90K signing bonus.

Bass had 3.5 sacks in 13 games for the Jets last season and did well according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus, but summer injuries ultimately cost him a place on the team for the fall.

The Jets will have the opportunity to add some of these players to their practice squad if they pass through waivers, but the team is unlikely to extend the invite to James, according to Slater.

Jets Sign 7 UDFAs

The Jets announced that they have signed seven undrafted free agents. Here’s the rundown:

  • Dimitri Flowers, FB (Oklahoma)
  • Reggie Flowers, CB (Jacksonville State)
  • Austin Golson, OL (Auburn)
  • Lord Hyeamang, DE (Columbia)
  • Dakoda Shepley, G (University of British Columbia)
  • Mychealon Thomas, DL (Texas Tech)
  • Tre’ Williams, LB (Auburn)

Teams tend to sign at least ten UDFAs after the draft and sometimes upwards of 20, so we’re expecting the Jets to add more to the group in the coming days. The Jets reportedly have 40+ players auditioning on Friday, so it’s safe to say that a portion of those players will receive UDFA deals.

Fullbacks typically don’t get a ton of attention, but the versatility of Dimitri Flowers could appeal to the Jets. Flowers was often employed as an H-back at Oklahoma and showcased his ability to run the ball, catch passes, and block in the backfield. Flowers was called upon to serve as the Sooners’ primary ball carrier against Iowa State in 2016 and managed 115 yards off of 22 carries. Then past season, he had nine touchdowns in his final year on campus.

The signing of Williams has not been officially reported by the Jets, but Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) notes that he has received a sizable $47K+ guarantee to sign with the Jets. Although Williams is a bit undersized and lacks athleticism, he is a tireless worker who could project as a special teams player.