Sunday is an important day for the New York Jets, as it marks the end of the preseason. Their final preseason game kicks off at 1:00 eastern against the New York Giants. It’s equally important, if not more, for a few players still fighting for a roster spot. Let’s highlight a couple of those players in advance of Sunday’s final tune-up for the 2022 season.
WR Calvin Jackson
The undrafted wide receiver out of Washington State had himself a very impressive training camp and also had a touchdown during this preseason, despite catching just two passes so far.
But there is still enough room in the wide receiver room for Jackson, who can also return punts to give Braxton Berrios a breather. It could come down to how many receivers the Jets decide to keep. If it’s six, Jackson could have a good shot. If it’s five, he may be practice-squad bound, provided the Jets can get him there.
Jackson will one of the more intriguing bubble players in this game, so it will be interesting to see how much playing time he gets on Sunday.
DT Jonathan Marshall
Along the defensive line, Jonathan Marshall has made quite a bit of noise during the preseason with a sack and two tackles for a loss. Only Tanzel Smart has more TFLs through two preseason games thus far. Both he and Smart are listed right behind Nathan Shephard and Sheldon Rankins on the depth chart. And the Jets like to move John Franklin-Meyers around, so chances are, the Jets will only keep four defensive tackles. This is all after he appeared in just four games as a rookie, so he’s had to prove himself this preseason.
So Sunday is the last chance for the 2021 sixth-round pick to state his case to be one of the backups to Quinnen Williams and Solomon Thomas. Will Marshall make one last statement and give the coaches a difficult decision on cutdown day?
Safety Tony Adams
The safety room got a little thinner after the second preseason game when the Jets waived Elijah Riley, who started seven games last season after being plucked from the 49ers’ practice squad.
That clears the path a little bit for Tony Adams, the undrafted free agent out of Illinois. Adams, Will Parks and Ashtyn Davis look to be competing for one spot behind Jordan Whitehead, Lamarcus Joyner and Jason Pinnock.
Adams has recorded five tackles this preseason and has some skills that can be coached up while earning some time on special teams. The veteran Parks has also had a strong preseason as well. This will be a fascinating battle to watch conclude this week.
TE Lawrence Cager
Tyler Conklin has been making the headlines so far at the tight end position for the Jets during training camp. But the team will still have players there besides him and C.J. Uzomah. One of those players could be Cager.
Cager has already hauled in a couple of nice catches through two preseason games, including a 34-yard touchdown catch last week against the Falcons.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Jets keep four tight ends, with the third being rookie Jeremy Ruckert. Cager is battling with Trevon Wesco and Kenny Yeboah.
