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The Jets have released 24-year old rookie center Colin Baxter. Baxter played in 3 games (2 starts) for the Jets this year. Baxter was awful filling in for Nick Mangold earlier this year. Now that Mangold is back, the Jets have absolutely no need to keep Baxter around. If Mangold gets hurt again, the Jets can find a street free agent better than Baxter.
The Jets have released 24-year old QB Drew Willy. Willy played in 2 preseason games for the Jets in which he completed 9 of 18 passes (50%) for 109 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (87.5 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 10 times for 3 yards (0.3 ypc) in the preseason. The Jets probably hope that Willy clears waivers so that they can try to stash him on the practice squad.
The Jets have released 29-year old WR Jerricho Cotchery. Cotchery played in 14 games (5 starts) for the Jets last year and he caught 41 passes for 433 yards (10.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs. He played in 103 games (65 starts) in his first seven years in the NFL and he caught 358 passes for 4,514 yards (12.6 avg) with 18 TD grabs. Cotchery also carried the ball 19 times for 79 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD carry. Cotchery helped out on special teams when called upon by the Jets. He returned 54 punts for 484 yards (9.0 avg) and he also returned 23 kickoffs for 594 yards (25.8 avg) with 1 TD return. Cotchery is #8 in Jets’ history in receptions with 358 of them. He is also #9 in receiving yards with 4,514 and he is also #15 in receiving TDs with 18 of them. It’s sad to see Cotchery go as he had a lot of big catches in his time with the Jets.
The Jets have released 40-year old QB Mark Brunell. Brunell played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Jets last year and he completed 7 of 13 passes (53.8%) for 117 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT (92.0 QB Rating). Brunell has now played in 177 games (151 starts) in his first 16 years in the NFL and he has completed 2,760 of 4,637 passes (59.5%) for 32,045 yards with 184 TD passes and 108 INTs (84.0 QB Rating). Brunell has also carried the ball 513 times for 2,421 yards (4.7 ypc) with 15 TD runs in his NFL career. Brunell is 78-73 (51.7%) as a starting QB in the NFL. It will be interesting to see if the Jets try to bring Brunell back with a smaller contract or if they just let him go.
UPDATE: (8/1/2011) – The Jets have re-signed Mark Brunell to a 1-year deal at a lower salary for the 2011 season.
33-year old starting right OT Damien Woody has decided to retire. Woody played in 13 games (all starts) for the Jets last year. He played in 45 games (all starts) in his three years with the Jets. Wayne Hunter, who head coach Rex Ryan calls the best backup tackle in the NFL, will replace Woody in the starting lineup. The Jets would have liked to keep Woody due to his versatility on the line but they have decided to spend the money he would have made elsewhere.
The New York Jets have released 30-year old TE Ben Hartsock. Hartsock played in all 16 games for the Jets last season and he caught 1 pass for 7 yards. He played in 32 games in his two years with the Jets and he caught 2 passes for 9 yards (4.5 avg). Hartsock is a run blocking TE so the Jets should be able to replace him pretty easily.
The Jets have released 33-year old OT Damien Woody. Woody played in 13 games (all starts) for the Jets last season. He played in 45 games (all starts) in three years with the Jets. The Jets will have to sign a free agent or draft a tackle to replace Woody. I don’t really like this move for the Jets.
The New York Jets have released 24-year old DE/OLB Vernon Gholston. He played in 16 games for the Jets last season and he had 12 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss. Gholston played in 45 games in his three years with the Jets and he had 42 tackles and 0 sacks. Gholston was a 1st round pick in 2008 for the Jets who envisioned him as a big time pass rusher. They were way off on that one. The Jets won’t miss Gholston at all going forward.
The Jets have released 31-year old DT Kris Jenkins. Jenkins only played in 1 game for the Jets last season and he had 1 tackle. Jenkins played in 23 games in 3 years with the Jets and he had 64 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble. Jenkins had a solid year back in 2008 for the Jets, but he has been very injury prone and ineffective the last two years. The Jets did fine without Jenkins last season and I don’t think they will miss him too much.
The Jets have released 36-year old DE/OLB Jason Taylor. Taylor played in all 16 games for the Jets last season and he had 36 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 6 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. Taylor was effective in his role as a pass rusher so I’m a little surprised that the Jets cut him to save a few bucks. They will have to replace Taylor in either the draft or free agency because they really lack a decent pass rusher.