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Jets have waived Neal Sterling

NFL: Atlanta Falcons at New York Jets Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Lost in all of the excitement of Joe Douglas’ introduction was the first roster move of the Douglas Era. Tight end Neal Sterling was waived to clear a roster spot for Bilal Powell.

It is quite a fall for Sterling. He topped the depth chart at tight end last year as training camp broke. Now he is a June cut. Sterling did not produce much during an injury-plagued 2018. He played in only 5 games and recorded only 6 receptions. While Sterling was injured, Chris Herndon emerged as a quality starter.

The Jets do not have much tight end depth behind Herndon, but I wasn’t expecting much from Sterling. He is a 27 year old with 24 career receptions. The high point of his career was a 5 catch, 74 yard game in the 2017 finale at New England, but there probably wasn’t much upside.

The only somewhat disappointing part of this move is that Eric Tomlinson did not go first.