The Jets 53-man roster deadline arrives Sunday night, and general manager Darren Mougey said the team is heading into a stretch of difficult conversations before the NFL cutdown window closes at 6 p.m. New York time.
Speaking during the Jets-Giants preseason finale at MetLife Stadium, Mougey said the team planned to spend Sunday morning getting medical updates and reviewing film before finalizing decisions. By early next week, he said, the roster will be set.
What the Jets are weighing
Mougey said training camp has given the Jets a clearer picture of the roster, pointing to a physical week of work that included two padded practices and about 48-50 reps for the starters. He added that the offseason goal was to bring more veteran leadership to a team that had one of the youngest rosters in the NFL last year.
That help came in part through additions such as Demario Davis, Geno Smith and Minkah Fitzpatrick, players the Jets believe can strengthen the locker room as much as the depth chart. Mougey said it has been good to watch those veterans work and that the full season together has helped the organization get to know one another better.
How the deadline works
By 6 p.m. on Sunday, every NFL team must trim its roster to 53 players. The Jets will then move on to building a 16-man practice squad, or 17 if an international player is included. That process can be especially emotional because it often means telling players their NFL dream is being delayed, at least for now.
Mougey said the club is in a better position this year because it has already gone through the cutdown process once. He said the conversations and day-to-day dialogue should be smoother, even if the final decisions are still difficult.
The timing also matters because the Jets are scheduled to travel to Tennessee on Sept. 13 to face the Titans. That gives the team only a short runway to settle the 53-man roster, define the practice squad and get ready for the regular season opener.
For the Jets, this is the point where preseason evaluation turns into the real roster. Mougey made it clear the next few days will be busy, and that the final choices are coming quickly.
