How former Jets are faring with their current teams: Part II - NFC

Now that we’re at the midway point of the season, it’s a good time to look into how ex-Jets have been faring so far this season with their current teams.

There seems to be more former Jets making key contributions around the league, which is perhaps a sign that the talent the Jets have had on their team has become more respected under the current regime. Are there any losses here that the Jets should regret - or players they should look into re-acquiring though?

We’ve split this up into two parts, looking at AFC players a few days ago and NFC players today.

As ever, this list is intended to be exhaustive, but if we missed anyone, let us know in the comments.

Giants:

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams missed about a month due to injury but seems to be back to his best with a team-high nine tackles, a half-sack and a crucial forced fumble on Sunday. For the year, he has 26 tackles but only 1.5 sacks so far.

Linebacker Austin Calitro has only played in five games, but did start two. He has eight tackles and two tackles for loss.

Safety Jason Pinnock had been limited to special teams action and was a healthy scratch a few times so far, but got to see some action on defense on Sunday and ended up with four tackles and 1.5 sacks. He also made a couple of plays on special teams.

Tight end Lawrence Cager was picked up recently and has been elevated for a couple of games. In Sunday’s game, he had two catches, including his first career touchdown.

Other moves: The Giants also have quarterback Davis Webb on their practice squad.

Washington:

Linebacker Milo Eifler only played six defensive snaps in four games, but did register one tackle. He is now on injured reserve, though.

Cornerback Rachad Wildgoose has been a useful pick-up, as he’s started three games. He has 15 tackles and three pass break-ups but does have four defensive penalties.

Other moves: The Commanders released offensive lineman Jon Toth from their practice squad.

Cowboys:

Tarell Basham has spent most of the season on injured reserve, returning to make his second appearance on Sunday. He is yet to record any statistics.

Kicker Brett Maher began the regular season on the practice squad but has retained the role all season, missing just three kicks and connecting on a game winner against the Bengals.

Dallas also has offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley on their practice squad and he has been elevated for two games, albeit just for special teams duties.

Other moves: The Cowboys also have tight end Ian Bunting on injured reserve.

Eagles:

The Eagles don’t have any ex-Jets on their roster but did recently sign defensive back Javelin Guidry to their practice squad. They also had running back La’Mical Perine on their practice squad, but have released him.

Packers:

The Packers just promoted defensive back/return specialist Corey Ballentine from the practice squad and he made his first appearance for them on Sunday, forcing a fumble on a special teams tackle.

Other moves: The Packers also added linebacker DQ Thomas to the practice squad.

Bears:

Kicker Cairo Santos and long snapper Patrick Scales have reprised their roles on special teams. Santos entered Sunday’s game against the Lions perfect on 13 field goals, but his fourth quarter missed extra point proved costly in a one-point loss. He did hit a game winner against Houston though. Scales has two tackles.

Tight end Ryan Griffin has played in eight games but only has three catches for 24 yards. His only contribution on Sunday was a holding penalty.

Quarterback Trevor Siemian has been the number two all year but has only thrown one pass, for a five-yard gain.

Cornerback Lamar Jackson has played in five games but was on the field for just four defensive snaps so far this season.

Defensive lineman Mike Pennel has made some contributions. He has 13 tackles, a tackle for loss, two quarterback hits and a fumble recovery.

Tight end Trevon Wesco is the only one out of all these players to make a start on offense or defense, but he’s mostly just been employed as a blocker. He had one catch for 23 yards.

Other moves: The Bears also have defensive lineman Trevon Coley on their practice squad and offensive lineman Dakota Dozier on injured reserve.

Vikings:

The Vikings don’t have any ex-Jets on their team at all, having released defensive back Parry Nickerson from the practice squad.

Lions:

Wide receiver and punt returner Kalif Raymond, who had a solid season with the Lions last year, is back and has played a solid role with 23 catches for over 300 yards and three rushes for 23 yards. He’s averaged eight yards per punt return and returned a kickoff 52 yards.

Linebacker Jarrad Davis has been on the practice squad but was activated for the first time on Sunday and had two tackles and a pass defensed.

Other moves: The Lions also added offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher and kicker Sam Ficken to their practice squad.

Bucs:

Zach Triner continues to operate as the Bucs’ long snapper. He has been credited with one tackle this season.

The only other ex-Jet on the Bucs’ team is wide receiver Breshad Perriman, who has just eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in eight games. He had started two games earlier in the year, but fumbled twice and hasn’t seen much action since.

Falcons:

The Falcons claimed tackle Chuma Edoga, who almost certainly would have started multiple games had he remained with the Jets. In Atlanta, he’s only been active once, playing only on special teams.

Tight End Anthony Firkser is back on the active roster now, having begun the season on the practice squad. He has started one game and recorded three catches for 35 yards in five games overall.

Safety Jovante Moffatt was also on the practice squad, but has recently been promoted to the active roster. He’s played in three games, albeit only on special teams.

Other moves: The Falcons also brought back offensive lineman Jonotthan Harrison and put him on their practice squad.

Saints:

Linebacker Demario Davis is having another great season although his production is down more or less across the board. The exception to this is in terms of his sack numbers. He has six, which is already a career high. Could this be enough to earn him his first pro bowl?

Marcus Maye arrived on a big contract to be the starting safety, but has been a bit of a disappointment so far, even when ignoring his off-field issues. He has missed a handful of games due to injury and isn’t making many impact plays. He has 34 tackles and one forced fumble.

New Orleans already had offensive lineman Josh Andrews on the practice squad, but they just promoted him to the main roster over the weekend and he started at center for them on Sunday. He had one bad snap.

Other moves: The Saints also added defensive end Jabari Zuniga to their practice squad.

Panthers:

Robbie Anderson was having a disappointing season with the Panthers and his frustration boiled over a few weeks ago as he feuded with coaches and was sent back to the locker room and traded to Arizona the next day. He had 13 catches for 206 yards and a touchdown prior to being traded.

Offensive lineman Patrick Elflein started the first six games but then suffered a season-ending injury.

Linebacker Frankie Luvu has been a revelation as he’s started seven games and recorded 56 tackles and a pick-six. He also has nine tackles for loss including three sacks, plus two passes defensed and a forced fumble. Luvu signed a two-year, $9 million deal in the offseason and this is looking like a bargain.

Return specialist Andre Roberts had a 10 yard punt return and two kickoff returns for 35 yards in the first game, but then suffered a knee injury that was expected to keep him out for a while. He’s still on injured reserve.

Kicker Eddy Pineiro has only missed two field goals and two extra points all season, but he missed one of each - both potential game-winners - in the overtime loss to Atlanta a few weeks ago.

Quarterback Sam Darnold was just activated from injured reserve but it’s not clear if he’s in the team’s plans to get any playing time soon although PJ Walker did just hurt his ankle.

Safety Juston Burris began the year on the practice squad but has since been promoted back to the main roster. He’s started three games and has 18 tackles and a pass defensed in four games overall.

Other moves: Kicker Taylor Bertolet was briefly on the practice squad and linebacker Julian Stanford was released from injured reserve.

49ers:

Defensive ends Jordan Willis and Kerry Hyder both come off the bench for the 49ers, although Willis was only just activated having spent the whole season on injured reserve. He had a sack and three run stuffs in his first game on Sunday night. Hyder has nine tackes, a sack, two passes defensed and a fumble recovery in six games.

Tight end Tyler Kroft has only played in four games, starting three. He has just 15 yards on two catches so far.

The 49ers also brought back running back Tevin Coleman a few weeks ago. He is currently on the practice squad but has seen action. He has only rushed for 26 yards on 12 carries but did have three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Other moves: The 49ers waived offensive lineman Blake Hance, who had suited up for seven games, but played only 12 offensive snaps.

Rams:

The Rams recently added offensive lineman Oday Aboushi and he’s already started one game for them with some Rams fans calling for him to get more opportunities.

John Wolford is the only other ex-Jet on the Rams’ roster. He hadn’t played until this week when he was forced into a starting role due to a Matt Stafford injury. The Rams lost 27-17 and Wolford ended up with over 200 yards passing and the first touchdown pass of his career - albeit that the touchdown came in garbage time.

Seahawks:

Geno Smith has been an unbelievable story this year. Despite losing to the Bucs in Germany, he has Seattle at 6-4 and could be headed to the pro bowl if he finishes the season strongly. Smith has passed for almost 2,500 yards and 17 touchdowns with only four interceptions and also has rushed for over 200 and a touchdown.

Nick Bellore has once again played snaps on offense, defense and special teams. As usual, he does his best work on special teams where he has eight tackles.

Safety Jamal Adams has been lost for the season with a torn quadriceps muscle. He had three tackles, a hit and a pass break-up in the first game before he got hurt.

Kicker Jason Myers is having another solid year with just one missed field goal and one missed extra point so far. He made a 55-yarder on Sunday.

Defensive lineman Shelby Harris has been starting and has been solid with 23 tackles, two sacks and two passes defensed.

Isaiah Dunn was a late waiver claim at cornerback but has only played on special teams. He had two tackles in five games but is now on injured reserve.

Other moves: Seattle released Zuniga after he had a short stint on their practice squad.

Cardinals:

The Cardinals acquired Anderson in the trade from the Panthers, but his first game with them was a disappointment as he had just one catch for a loss on seven targets with a couple of drops. He didn’t receive a single target on Sunday.

Wide receiver and return specialist Greg Dortch has already been contributing in the receiver rotation, with 25 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He was back in a return man role on Sunday, though, with punt returns of 10, 13 and 17 yards. He had entered the game averaging less than five yards per punt return and 21 yards per kickoff return.

Kelvin Beachum has been starting at right tackle. He’s had a pretty solid season on the whole but has given up four sacks with five penalties.

Kicker Matt Ammendola played two games with the team but has since been released. He made four of six kicks, missing a potential game-tying field goal to cost them the Eagles game.

Other moves: Guidry started off on their active roster before being released. Cornerback Nate Hairston has recently been added to the practice squad.

We’ll be back with with another update at the end of the season...