Jets Release Hayden Smith

The Jets have released tight end and former rugby player Hayden Smith.

TE Hayden Smith has been released. Not a surprise. Cumberland, Winslow & Reuland were ahead of him. Pantale also opened some eyes. #nyj

— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) August 27, 2013

This should serve as a reminder of how little reports of somebody doing well in practice really mean. Smith was reportedly tearing up OTA's. With an uninspiring corps of tight ends, there was a huge opening for him to make the roster. Unfortunately he was not able to do so.

Smith always faced a huge learning curve. The fundamentals and innate knowledge of the game many of his peers have spent over a decade learning he had to learn on the fly while competing against athletes of the highest level. That is a very difficult challenge to overcome, one that seems to have proven too steep for Hayden to climb.