The Jets were busy at work over the weekend, cutting down their 80-man training camp roster to 53 with the regular season less than a week away.
Throughout the weekend, Adam Gase and Joe Douglas had 27 tough decisions to make. Some were easy, while others likely took hours of deliberation. Some were also downright head-scratching.
With that being said, here are four of the biggest surprises from New York’s weekend of roster moves.
Cutting Jonotthan Harrison
In three years with the Jets, Jonotthan Harrison served as nothing but a reliable offensive lineman who produced when his number was called. That was not enough to save his job, though, as he was among New York’s first round of cuts on Friday night.
The decision to cut Harrison leaves the Jets without a true reserve center and down a leader, one Sam Darnold pinpointed as an invaluable presence in the locker room.
“For the last 2½ years, for lack of a better term, he’s been kind of like an older brother to me, showing me the ropes,” Darnold told ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “It’s been fun, man, watching him come to work every day. He works harder than anyone I know. Jon is an incredible human being, a great leader and a great friend. He understands how much of a business football is. That’s how we both have to look at it, but it does suck.”
New York will undoubtedly miss Harrison on and off the field. It’s tough to argue against Joe Douglas’ reasoning when it comes to offensive line personnel, but this decision is one that leaves plenty of questions.
Cutting James Burgess
The Jets are already without C.J. Mosley and Patrick Onwuasor is out 4-5 weeks with an injury. Instead of stacking up on inside linebacker depth in Onwuasor’s absence, though, New York elected to part ways with a player who made an impact as a starter in 2019.
James Burgess performed admirably for the Jets down the stretch last season. He wasn’t perfect, but he made enough plays to warrant a return in 2020. Instead, he is now seeking new employment.
New York could have benefitted from keeping Burgess around — at least until Onwuasor returned. Cutting the Louisville product and keeping the likes of Harvey Langi does not make much sense.
3 Safeties
The Jets opted for just three safeties on their initial 53-man roster, keeping Marcus Maye, Bradley McDougald and Ashtyn Davis. Matthias Farley and Bennett Jackson were both cut, though Jackson was added to the practice squad.
New York’s three active safeties are versatile players who can play all over the field, so only having three on the roster won’t hurt New York’s depth like it would some teams. Still, it was a surprise to see two veterans cut at the position. Don’t be shocked if Jackson is promoted from the practice squad at some point.
5 Quarterbacks?
Most teams carry no more than three quarterbacks between their active roster and practice squad. The Jets will begin 2020 carrying five.
To be fair, New York is in a unique situation with Joe Flacco’s recovery from offseason neck surgery. He’ll be ready to go early in the season, but not for the first couple of weeks. That forced the Jets to choose between carrying him on their 53-man roster or placing him on the PUP list, putting him out of action for six weeks. There is also the presence of rookie James Morgan, who is next in line to be Sam Darnold’s backup once he receives some seasoning as a rookie.
The Jets didn’t have to carry both David Fales and Mike White on their practice squad, though. The skill gap between the two is relatively large and Fales has the experience factor working in his favor. Instead of carrying two quarterbacks to duke it out for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart, New York could have used one of its practice squad spots on a potentially impactful skill position player.
