FB John Conner Released, LB Marcus Dowtin Called Up

So the news of today is that FB John Conner, The Terminator, Concrete Conner, whatever you want to call him, has been released. Conner has been injured almost the entire season with hamstring and knee issues, so the team reached an injury settlement with him, in light of FB Lex Hilliard's decent play the past few weeks. When Conner heals in a few weeks, I would not be surprised if he is re-signed, mostly for his special teams value.

To replace Conner's spot on the roster, the New York Jets have activated LB Marcus Dowtin from the practice squad. Dowtin's nickname is "The Hybrid" because of his ability to play multiple roles on defense, including safety and linebacker. Dowtin was one of the team's most heavily coveted un-drafted free agents this past year, so it's good to see the team recognizing his untapped ability. His youth and speed, if used properly, will be a huge asset to the lumbering linebacking corps we've seen so far this season. If Dowtin develops, as planned, a corps of him, Demario Davis, and Aaron Maybin could form a dynamic and extremely fast group. I'm very excited to see what Dowtin can do on the field, especially in the "big nickel" package that we will see a lot of this coming weekend against the New England Patriots.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Edit: A thought just came to me about people upset that we are cutting all of our draft picks or not playing them or what have you. Lately, we've seen a lot of Quinton Coples, Stephen Hill, Demario Davis, Antonio Allen, and a little less of Josh Bush. Now we have UDFAs like Dowtin and guys like Jonathan Grimes ready to contribute as well. Maybe we've been giving Mike Tannenbaum too little credit? Nah, probably not.

Edit 2: Apparently the team probably can't bring back Conner this season. With his injury settlement, he cannot be re-signed for another six weeks. Those six weeks cannot begin until after the two week injury pay ends, which would effectively prevent the team from re-signing him within the next eight weeks.