Jamaal Westerman had a disappointing 2011. He was provided with ample opportunities to make a name for himself. When the Jets let Jason Taylor go, they intended to let Westerman take over as the primary situational pass rusher. Aaron Maybin eventually thrived in that role. When Bryan Thomas injured his Achilles tendon, Westerman got the starting job. In his first game in that role, he had two sacks of Tom Brady. He had a few moments after that including a hit on Brady that forced a safety on an intentional grounding call in the second meeting between the Jets and the Pats. Overall his work was uninspiring, though, both as a pass rusher and as a run defender. He saw his playing time drop as a result.
Westerman was apparently playing the season with a torn groin, which complicates the calculus a bit. How much this affected him is an unknown. Jamaal quietly did a good job on special teams coverage units, which is a plus for a backup caliber player. Should he return, though?
I would be inclined to see the Jets see him walk. I think backup special teams players should be mainly young, minimum wage guys with the potential to develop into contributors at their position. Even though the coaching staff has talked him up his entire career, Jamaal is now 27, and it still has not clicked. I wonder whether it ever will.
If you want to give him a pass for the injury and give him one final shot, I could live with it, but I would like to see the Jets give his roster spot to a young guy with more of a ceiling. What do you think?