The regular season is almost here, but first NFL teams must cut their rosters from 90 men to 53 by Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The Jets will surely begin their process on Sunday after completing the preseason with Saturday night’s 10-6 preseason win against the Giants.
There is not a ton of drama with the Jets roster this season.
Most of the spots were set long before training camp began.
Still, there are usually a couple of surprises.
Here is my crack at predicting what that initial 53-man roster will look like:
QB (2): Aaron Rodgers, Tyrod Taylor
This is pretty simple.
I don’t see the Jets carrying a third quarterback on the active roster.
Rookie Jordan Travis will be on an injured list and the Jets are treating this like a redshirt year for him.
Adrian Martinez and Andrew Peasley are fighting for a practice squad spot.
RB (4): Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, Isaiah Davis, Israel Abanikanda
Abanikanda is the only question here, but I think he has shown enough to get a roster spot.
The retirement of Tarik Cohen helped his chances.
I don’t think Joe Douglas wants to give up on a draft pick this quickly.
WR (7): Garrett Wilson, Mike Williams, Xavier Gipson, Allen Lazard,
Malachi Corley, Irvin Charles, Jason Brownlee
I feel pretty good that these are the seven guys who are going to be on the roster.
The tougher prediction comes on game day with who will be inactive.
Charles has special teams value, so I would pencil him in.
Corley, the rookie third-round pick, and Brownlee might be inactive candidates.
TE (3): Tyler Conklin, Jeremy Ruckert, Kenny Yeboah
I thought about keeping Zack Kuntz as the fourth tight end, but he just has not done enough in camp. I see him as a practice squad candidate.
OL (10): Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Morgan Moses,
Olu Fashanu, Wes Schweitzer, Max Mitchell, Carter Warren, Xavier Newman
After last year, Douglas will be tempted to keep 15 offensive linemen.
Fashanu has shown he can play both left and right tackle, so he will be the swing tackle.
Schweitzer is the backup center. Newman, Warren and Mitchell all had to play a decent amount last season.
DL (10): Jermaine Johnson, Quinnen Williams, Javon Kinlaw, Will McDonald, Micheal Clemons,
Solomon Thomas, Leki Fotu, Takk McKinley, Leonard Taylor, Jalyn Holmes
For this exercise, I am projecting who will be on the initial 53-man roster after the cuts on Tuesday.
If I were projecting who will be on the Week 1 roster, I would have added Haason Reddick.
I still think the two sides will work something out before the 49ers game.
But I think Reddick will remain on the Did Not Report list on Tuesday, so he won’t count toward the 53.
Taylor is an undrafted free agent who I think has earned a spot.
Holmes gets the nod over Eric Watts to me.
LB (5): C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams, Jamien Sherwood, Zaire Barnes, Chazz Surratt
This group has been impressive in training camp.
Everyone knows that Mosley and Williams are among the best linebackers in football, but they also have depth at this position.
CB (5): Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, Michael Carter II, Brandin Echols, Qwan’tez Stiggers
I’m going to cheat a little here.
I have six cornerbacks I want to keep.
Jarrick Bernard-Converse is the sixth.
He is dealing with a groin injury right now.
I am going to stash him on injured reserve and bring him back off IR when he is healthy.
That is a new rule this year.
You used to have to put a player on the 53-man roster initially and then move them to IR after the rosters were set.
S (4): Chuck Clark, Tony Adams, Ashtyn Davis, Isaiah Oliver
Oliver is another possibility for IR.
He has been dealing with a soft tissue injury.
Without knowing the extent of the injuries, it is tough to project who will be back first.
So, if Oliver has a more serious injury than Bernard-Converse, I’ll put him on IR.
ST (3): Greg Zuerlein, Thomas Morstead, Thomas Hennessy
The easiest group on the team to project.
