A Bad Day For Former Jets

Cut down days in the NFL are never fun for fringe players.  The first cut is particularly harsh, as guys who aren't good enough to make a 75 man roster rarely get a lot of additional chances to make an impact in the NFL.

The 2016 NFL deadline to get rosters down to 75 is today, and some teams have already announced many of their cuts.  It hasn't been a great day for former Jets.  Representatives from the 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Jets have all already gotten the dreaded call to turn in their playbooks (or tablets or smartphones or Hololenses or whatever they turn in these days).

Beginning with the 2012 Jets, 2012 second round draft selection wide receiver Stephen Hill was cut by the Carolina Panthers.  Hill was one of the bigger draft disappointments for a franchise that has seen more than its fair share.  Hill suffered a devastating knee injury last year and could never make much of an impression with the Panthers in their 2016 preseason, although given Hill's skill set it is questionable whether the outcome would have been any different even if health was not an issue.

Also from the 2012 Jets, undrafted tight end Konrad Reuland was cut by the Indianapolis Colts.  Reuland played for the Jets in 2012 and 2013, accumulating 12 receptions for 90 yards over that time.  He spent the 2015 season with the Baltimore Ravens, appearing in four games without registering a catch.

From the 2013 Jets we have guard William Campbell.  A puzzling 6th round selection in 2013 who was projected at guard despite playing most of his college career on the defensive line, Campbell never played a snap with the Jets, although he did occupy a permanently inactive spot on the Jets' 53 man roster for the entire 2013 season.  After the Jets cut him in 2014 Campbell caught on with the Buffalo Bills practice squad briefly before moving on to the Tennessee Titans in 2015.  Campbell never appeared in an NFL game.  The Titans cut him from their 75 man roster yesterday.

The 2014 Jets drafted linebacker Jeremiah George in the 5th round.  George was cut by the Jets and was picked up by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014, where he was a seldom used backup.  In 2015 George caught on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, again as a seldom used backup.  The Buccaneers cut George from their 2016 75 man roster.  If this is the end of his career George will finish having accumulated four tackles and three assists over two seasons with two teams.

Finally we come to the 2015 Jets. The Jets signed tight end Arthur Lynch as a free agent after the Dolphins cut him in August 2015.  Lynch was cut by the Jets before the season started.  Lynch was originally drafted by the Dolphins in the 5th round of the 2014 NFL draft.  He was on the off season rosters of the Miami Dolphins, the New York Jets and the Atlanta Falcons but never appeared in an NFL game.  Lynch was cut from the Atlanta Falcons 75 man roster yesterday.

Getting cut from the 75 man roster is often the death knell for an NFL career, particularly, as was the case with each of these players, when the player has already spent multiple years trying to make it in the NFL.  If this is the last rodeo for these five former Jets, we wish them well and hope for their success in whatever life brings them in their future endeavors.