The 2019 Jets Roster: What Comes Next?

The New York Jets initial 2019 roster cuts to get down to a 53 man roster are done. What comes next for the 2019 Jets roster?

The Jets and every other NFL team have been busy putting in waiver claims on some of the 1000+ players waived this weekend. The time for putting in such claims expires at 12:00 noon EDT today, September 1. Shortly thereafter word will begin to trickle out regarding which players the Jets and all other NFL teams successfully claimed on waivers. The Jets are third in waiver priority, meaning if either of the two teams ahead of the Jets (Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers) puts in a claim on any player the Jets also claim, the Jets will not be awarded that player.

Any player successfully claimed by the Jets will be placed on the 53 man roster, and a corresponding roster move will need to be made to create space for the claimed player. This may or may not entail cutting a player. Roster space can also be created with trades or via the various reserved lists, such as injured reserve.

At 1:00 pm today teams can begin to assemble their practice squads. Players may only be signed to a practice squad after they have cleared waivers, meaning no other team has claimed them. The vast majority of players cut this weekend will go unclaimed, and those with no more than two years of eligible service on an NFL 53 man roster will then be eligible to be signed to a practice squad. In general practice squads consist largely of players cut by the same team the day before. Teams have the most familiarity with players they’ve had in camp all summer. However a team with a good scouting operation should be able to identify some better players from other teams’ cuts, and can poach such players for their own practice squads.

NFL practice squads consist of up to ten players, with four NFL teams each year (including the Jets this year) gaining an additional eleventh slot reserved for an international player. Practice squad players make a minimum of $8000 per week, or $136,000 for a full 17 week season, payable on a weekly basis during the season. All practice squad salaries count against the salary cap. The Jets entire practice squad will cost about $1.5 million in 2019 salary cap space. In theory there is no upper limit to the compensation paid to members of the practice squad. Occasionally a team will pay a particularly promising developmental player significantly more than the minimum to keep them away from other NFL teams. However the vast majority of practice squad players make the minimum.

Finalizing waiver claims and filling the practice squad will keep the Jets busy the next day or two. Then roster changes will slow down considerably, as the focus turns towards getting ready for the first game of the regular season against the Buffalo Bills next Sunday.