Jets Activate Ridley; Waive/Injured Owusu

The Jets have activated running back Stevan Ridley. He had been on the PUP list since training camp recovering from a serious knee injury. To clear room on the roster, they waived/injured Chris Owusu.

We have activated RB Stevan Ridley from the PUP list and waived/injured WR Chris Owusu.

— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 30, 2015

With the way things have played out, Ridley has become an important player on this team. Chris Ivory has only played 5 games, but he is already more than halfway to his career high in carries. Ivory's running style is a bit of a catch-22. The contact he delivers makes him a very effective runner. It also means that he takes a lot of contact. This has made him injury prone during his career. Ivory is already dealing with his second ailment of the season. This is all part of the reason he has never gotten more than 198 carries in a single year. I would also add that 198 carries for Ivory bring more wear and tear than 198 carries for your typical back.

Ivory is only going to be effective for so many carries. Somebody else needs to step up. Zac Stacy and Bilal Powell have not shown an ability to do so when Ivory was down. Can Ridley take some of the additional carries and be effective? A lot of this team's success might depend on it.

For Owusu, it is sad to see him dealing with another concussion. He is going to have to make a decision about his future, and nobody has the right to tell him what to do or criticize what he does.

A less important part of the story is the question this brings about which Jet will handle kickoff returns. Stacy did not cut it in Owusu's absence earlier this year.

As a sidenote, notice Owusu was waived/injured, not waived. The Jets are not dumping him. In order to place him on injured reserve, they have to give the other teams a chance to claim him first.