With the final preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles looming, the Jets need to take a realistic look at their roster to prepare for their final cuts. Unfortunately, greed is frowned upon in the NFL, and fans will be forced to bid farewell to some talented players a 53-man roster simply cannot accommodate.
It’s a time for tough decisions. Sometimes a veteran needs to be let go, and other times a promising prospect is released to accommodate a lack of depth at a more vulnerable position.
The first person whose job may be at stake is veteran CB, David Barrett. Most fans believed he would have been gone at the start of the offseason, but as the defensive backfield is thin at experience, Barrett has remained.
However, it’s been a very quiet pre-season for Barrett, being lost in Nickel and Dime package duties, and doing next to nothing to separate himself from the youth movement.
Slow first steps and mediocre tackling have led to a negative outlook on David Barrett from most fans. He has performed fairly well in coverage, coming up with crucial picks during his time in New York, but given his cap number and lackluster productivity, David Barrett may find himself out of a job come time for final cuts.
At this point, Hank Poteat should be the front-runner for veteran presence and experience in the Jets’ secondary. And the impressive play of young guys like Dwight Lowery and Drew Coleman makes Barrett even more expendable.
The troubled history of Ahmad Carroll will have no bearing when it comes time to make a decision on his future with the team. Through three pre-season games and training camp, Carroll has shown an ability to play hard, but has been fairly inconsistent.
With the toe injury to Justin Miller, Carroll may land a job on the team with a special teams role. Given the potential match-ups in different games, he may also be utilized in specific packages, but with the aforementioned youth, Carroll will have some difficulties making the final cut.
Truthfully, it may come down to a decision between Carroll and Barrett. Given David Barrett’s cap number, he may become the odd man out.
In a league dominated by dollars and cents, keeping Barret and his contract will disallow any room for maneuvering if any emergency signings need to be made during the regular season.
The depth at linebacker may also force some fan favorites off the team.
It’d be a total fallacy to try and discount Marques Murrell as one of the young guys that long time Jets' fans are rooting for. The baby brother of former Jets’ RB, Adrian Murrell, does have some work to do, but he has looked good when asked to pass rush.
Murrell hasn’t recorded many tackles of his own, but he seems to have a knack for applying pressure. He’s shown good quickness and a strong motor when trying to get to the quarterback. And when plays are blown dead, he always appears to be in the mix somewhere.
But it’s his contributions on special teams that may earn him a spot on the final roster.
Murrell has the misfortune of playing a position the Jets have intentionally stacked up on. Searching high and low for depth with the OLB/DE hyrbrid has become a Jets’ trend.
12 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Bruce Dickenson 10 months ago
I think Ratliff spells real trouble for both Clemens and Aigne. He may very well end up in the number 2 spot.
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Angel Navedo 10 months ago
The way I see things unfolding for Ratliff is like this:
He'll receive the third spot on the chart coming into 2008. If Favre returns for 2009, he'll be in a battle for the #2 spot with Kellen. It'll be crucial for Clemens to perform well then, because he'll be entering a contract year.
If Favre decides he's one and done, Ratliff will definitely be the #2 and push for the starting job if Clemens doesn't play well.
Either way, I'm pretty comfortable with him if he were to be identified as the new QB of the future.
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Andy Sprague 10 months ago
I saw Jehuu Caulcrick misused in college where he should have been given more carries instead he had to block for the guy taking his carries. I hope the Jets keep him.
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Angel Navedo 10 months ago
That's interesting. I'm assuming because of his size he's been pigeon holed into blocking roles. I'm guilty of it, too. If he's released, the Jets will really regret it if he turns out to have Brandon Jacobs-like ability.
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Colin Linneweber 10 months ago
Good job, buddy!
I know preseason means dick and you can't genuinely evaluate anybody from play in scrimmages....But, do you, like me, think Brett Ratliffe is pretty freaking good!
I am excited!
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Angel Navedo 10 months ago
I've thought Ratliff was pretty good since seeing him the first day of training camp. I knew it was too soon to push for anything then, but if the QB battle was going to stay between Pennington and Clemens, it wouldn't have been fair to Ratliff. I'm glad that he's been playing well though. I'm not so afraid of the future After-Favre anymore.
On a side note, Musa Smith was released today. So his bubble has been popped. He's a good special teams guy and a solid 3rd RB. But with all the ST depth and Jesse Chatman playing well, there was no space for him. Ah well.
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Mackenzie Kraemer 10 months ago
Barrett took a pay cut, so I don't know if he'll still be cut. He's a solid veteran presence. Is he a starter? Probably not, but with Lowery and Miller around, he shouldn't have to be.
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Angel Navedo 10 months ago
Pay cut or not, I still think of Barrett as a liability whenever he's on the field. He gets embarrassed when passes fly over his head. I wouldn't mind if Hank Poteat stuck around as the only source of a solid veteran presence.
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Mackenzie Kraemer 10 months ago
Forgot about Poteat, but he was very good last season. Barrett is good at what he does: stopping bigger, physical receivers. Sometimes he looks like burnt toast, and sometimes he gives up wayy too big a cushion, but he's not bad.
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Daniel Smith 10 months ago
MACKENZIE BARRETT IS NOT GOOD, I MEAN YEAH YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SKILL TO PLAY IN THE NFL AND SHOWED PROMISE WITH THE CARDINALS BUT HE HAS BEEN BURNT TOO OFTEN AS A JET AND GIVEN UP BIG PLAYS THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS HIM AROUND IS THE FACT THAT RIGHT WHEN YOUR READY TO COMPLETELY GIVE UP ON HIM HE COMES UP WITH A BIG PLAY. HES LIKE ARRON HEILMAN, NUFF SAID
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Michael Felder 10 months ago
Perhaps I'm biased as a former teammate of Wallace Wright's but there aren't many guys out there who take special teams as serious as that guy does. He can lead block on kickoff, return kicks and punts, cover punts and kickoffs and be a gunner or a jammer on punt team. He's a pretty versatile asset on the teams.
In fact he earned his scholarship by being a special teams dynamo and as you've seen in NY when he gets the ball he can do good thing with it. He can play on the four core teams and I hope to see him stay on the roster, but as you said the wide receiver depth has him in limbo.
Good article and I'll keep my fingers crossed for WW.
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Angel Navedo 7 months ago
Good thing you've been absolutely right. His name has been thrown around as a potential for the Pro Bowl. I'm glad the Jets found room for him, because he's been great this year.
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