The Jets had a lot of roster turnover between 2018 and 2019 — thanks in part to a lot of organizational turnover — which left a handful of players in new locations this past season.
There were an abundance of notable players from New York’s 2018 roster that were on different teams in 2019. That list includes Darron Lee, Mike Pennel, Morris Claiborne, Buster Skrine, Jason Myers, Leonard Williams, Andre Roberts, Josh McCown, Isaiah Crowell and Jermaine Kearse.
Let’s take a look at how those 10 players performed after leaving the Jets.
Super Bowl Champs
Three former Jets were were part of the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs: Darron Lee, Mike Pennel and Morris Claiborne.
Lee found himself in a backup role this season with the Chiefs after being a three-year starter for the Jets. After having three straight seasons of 40+ tackles, Lee only recorded 22 tackles in his first season in Kansas City.
Despite not playing a full season, Pennel had one of the better years of his career. In the Super Bowl, he was one of the players who caused Jimmy Garoppolo to throw his first interception. Pennel had 13 total tackles and one sack during the regular season.
Like Lee, Claiborne was also a backup player. He only played in eight games and had nine tackles to go along with no pass defenses. It was the first time in his eight-career that he didn’t record a breakup.
Buster Skrine
Buster Skrine signed with the Chicago Bears after spending four years with the Jets.
As the starting slot cornerback, Skrine saw his numbers take a dip. After recording 50+ tackles in two straight seasons with the Jets, he had 39 tackles in his first year in Chicago. His pass defenses dropped too, as he went from eight in 2018 to five in 2019.
Jason Myers
Jason Myers went back to the team that cut him before the 2018 season, the Seattle Seahawks.
Myers had a Pro Bowl season with the Jets in 2018, but was nowhere near as good in 2019. After hitting about 92 percent of his kicks with the Jets, Myers fell down to 82 percent with the Seahawks. He was 23-28 on field goals and 40-44 on extra points.
Leonard Williams
Leonard Williams spent seven games with the Jets in 2019 before being traded across town to the Giants.
With the Jets, he had eight total tackles, one pass defense and zero sacks. He performed slightly better with the Giants for eight games, recording 13 tackles, two pass defenses and half a sack prior to free agency.
The Jets got a 2020 third-round pick and a 2021 fifth-rounder, which could become a fourth-rounder, from the Giants in exchange for Williams.
Andre Roberts
After a Pro Bowl season with the Jets in 2018, Andre Roberts opted to sign with the rival Bills.
However, he didn’t have as great of a season as he did with New York. With the Jets, Roberts had two special teams touchdowns. He had one with the Bills. Roberts’ kick return and punt return yards dropped significantly as well. He had 1,174 kick return yards and 324 punt return yards in 2018, but only 664 kick return yards and 223 punt return yards in 2019.
Josh McCown
Josh McCown initially retired from football before the start of the season. Then the Eagles called and signed him after injuries hampered their backups.
McCown threw all of five passes in the regular season for 24 yards. His presence was shown though in the Eagles’ Wild Card loss to the Seahawks. McCown was forced to come into the game after Carson Wentz suffered a head injury. In that game, McCown was 18-24 for 174 yards and had 23 rushing yards. He did that while playing through a torn hamstring that he has since had surgery on.
It was the 40-year-old’s first playoff game.
Season-Ending Injuries
Isaiah Crowell joined the Raiders, while Jermaine Kearse signed with the Lions. But both players’ seasons were over before they ever started.
Crowell tore his Achilles in a team workout at the end of April and was placed on season-ending injured reserve. Kearse, meawhile, broke his leg in Week 1 of the preseason and was also placed on season-ending injured reserve.
