Since
the end of the season, before and after John Idzik was named the
Jets' new general manager, the Green & White began the process of
signing players to reserve/future contracts.
The
first signings occurred a day after the season ended in Buffalo and
plenty more took place in January. The most notable names of the
bunch may be a cornerback and a pair of safeties.
CB
Cliff Harris as a sophomore at Oregon in 2010, was an
All-American and led the country in punt-return touchdowns and passes
defended. With impressive accolades at the collegiate level, the
Fresno, Calif., native comes to the Jets looking to earn himself a
spot on the 2013 roster.
S
Jaiquawn Jarrett presents great potential. He was a 2011
second-round draft selection by Philadelphia and played in 12 games
with the Eagles during his rookie season. While the Jets’ secondary
was one of the team’s biggest strengths last season, Jarrett will
surely get a chance to prove himself. The other safety, Brett
Lockett, was formerly a member of the Jets’ AFC East rivals, the
New England Patriots.
The
Jets also have added five wideouts with good size to their offseason
roster.
Wide
Receivers
Emmanuel
Arceneaux(6'2", 211) —Arceneaux spent the 2012 season on
the Redskins' practice squad. In 2011 he was a member of the Vikings,
playing in three games and recording one reception for 10 yards. He
spent the 2009-10 seasons in the CFL with the BC Lions, for whom he
played 18 games and scored 12 touchdowns. Arceneaux attended Alcorn
State and was president of the student-athlete advisory committee.
Joseph
Collins(6'3", 200) — The former Weber State standout
signed with the Jets on Jan. 2. This isn’t his first stint with the
Green & White. He was signed by the team Aug. 8, 2012, and had
one catch for 17 yards in the preseason before being cut Aug. 31.
Vidal
Hazelton(6'2", 209) — Hazelton’s journey to the
Jets has been a rollercoaster. He went undrafted out of Cincinnati
before signing with San Diego on July 26, 2011, then was cut a month
later. Late that season he returned to the Bengals as a member of
their practice squad. He was signed again by Cincinnati Jan. 9, 2012,
but cut on August 31. His 2012 regular season began with Tennessee’s
practice squad and ended back with the Bengals’ practice squad. The
Jets signed him to a reserve/future contract Jan. 23.
Royce
Pollard (6'1", 175) — Pollard, a San Diego native, signed
a reserve/future contract with the Jets on Dec. 31 after spending all
but five days of the 2012 season on their practice squad.
Titus
Ryan (6'0", 193) — Ryan’s path to the Jets is
somewhat similar to Hazleton’s. After going undrafted out of
Concordia College in Alabama in 2007, he was signed by the Chiefs.
His stay in KC was short-lived and he was picked up by the Saints for
their practice squad. After less than a month in the Big Easy, he was
cut. New Orleans re-signed him for the 2008 offseason but cut him
just before training camp. From there, he spent just under three
weeks with Carolina’s practice squad.
In 2009
he decided to give the Canadian Football League a shot. In his one
CFL season he enjoyed stints with the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg
Blue Bombers. When 2010 rolled around, he was signed by Dallas before
being cut in August. In '11 the Cowboys did the same thing again,
signing him in January and cutting him in August. The Jets signed him
to their practice squad last Dec. 10 and soon it will be determined
whether the 28-year-old’s time in New York will be extended past
his reserve/future contract.
Quarterback
Matt
Simms (6'3", 210) — Simms, the son of former Giants
QB and current CBS analyst Phil Simms, is entering his second stint
with the Jets. In his first, he tried out with the Jets last April,
made the offseason roster, went through training camp and saw action
in the Jets’ final preseason game at Philadelphia before he was
waived. He returned to the Green & White on Dec. 31.
Tackles
Dennis
Landolt (6'4", 306) — In his first three seasons in
the NFL, Landolt has been a member of four franchises' practice
squads. He started with the Giants in 2010 and closed out the year
spending three weeks with San Francisco. The Jets signed him in early
January 2011 and he’s mainly been back and forth with the Green &
White ever since (although he did spend four days with New Orleans in
October 2011).
D.J.
Young (6'5", 298) — The former Michigan State Spartan
spent 2011 on Arizona’s practice squad. Heading into 2012,
Cardinals LT Levi Brown suffered a torn triceps and Young was the
first up to replace him, yet D’Anthony Batiste beat him out and
Arizona released him during final cuts. Last season Young was a
member of Cleveland’s practice squad. Young’s father, Duane, was
a TE for the Bills and Chargers. The Jets signed him on Jan. 17.
Defensive
End
Claude
Davis (6'2", 234) — Davis, listed as a DE, was signed by
the Jets on Jan. 2. During his senior season at South Florida in
2011, he posted 16 tackles, six sacks, seven tackles for loss, two
forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a blocked extra point. His six
sacks ranked him eighth in the Big East.
Defensive
Tackle
Tevita
Finau (6'4", 283) — Finau, who was born in New Zealand and
raised on Hawai‘i and Tonga, was signed by Philadelphia last June
22, then cut a month later. In November he spent 13 days with Dallas’
practice squad. The Jets added Finau to their practice squad on Dec.
4 and signed him to a reserve/future contract 27 days later.
Linebackers
JoJo
Dickson (6'1", 245) — Dickson was signed by the Jets on
Dec. 31. For the final three weeks of the 2012 season, he was a
member of the Green & White’s practice squad. Prior to that, he
attended 2012 training camp with the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL and
had two brief stints with Jacksonville and Cleveland.
Danny
Lansanah (6'1", 255) — Lansanah’s NFL career got off to
an encouraging start nearly five years ago. After beginning on Green
Bay’s practice squad in September 2008, he earned a spot on the
Packers' active roster the following month for the rest of the season
and was active in five games. His time in Green Bay came to an end
the following year when he was cut in September, then he split time
in '09 between the Miami and Detroit practice squads. Until the Jets
signed Lansanah on Jan. 4, the UConn alum played in the United
Football League from 2010-12.
Jacquies
Smith (6'2", 260) — The former Missouri Tiger was
signed by the Jets on Dec. 31 after spending the final 3½ weeks of
the 2012 season with their practice squad. Smith went undrafted last
April and began his time in the NFL when he was signed by the
Dolphins on May 4, before being cut Aug. 25. Before his senior season
in Columbia, he was named a preseason Lombardi Watch List candidate.
Cornerback
Cliff
Harris (5'11", 180) —Harris put together a terrific
collegiate career at Oregon. As a sophomore in 2010, a season in
which Oregon reached the BCS National Championship Game, he led the
nation with four punt-return touchdowns and 20 passes defended. His
time in Eugene was cut short, however, when he was dismissed from the
team following a series of traffic-related offenses in 2011. The
22-year-old went undrafted in 2012 before signing with Philadelphia
on April 29, 2012. He was cut on Aug. 26 and most recently signed
with the Jets on Jan. 4.
How did
Harris end up with the Jets? One key may be his head coach back at
Edison High School in Fresno — Tim McDonald, the former 49ers Pro
Bowl S who is now the Jets' DBs coach.
Safeties
Jaiquawn
Jarrett (6'0", 196) — Projected to be a third- or
fourth-round selection in 2011, Jarrett was selected in the second
round, 54th overall, by Philadelphia. He played in 12 games (two
starts) with the Eagles his rookie season, finishing with 14 tackles.
Last season he saw action in one game before being cut on Sept. 11.
Jarrett, a teammate at Temple of Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson,
was signed by the Green & White on Dec. 31.
Bret
Lockett (6'1", 220) —Lockett was signed by the Browns
after going undrafted out of UCLA in 2009. Cleveland waived him
during final cuts on Sept. 6. The next day New England acquired the
safety off waivers. Lockett played in 10 games for the 2009 Patriots,
recording one forced fumble and five special teams tackles, one each
in the two games vs. the Jets that season. The Pats declared Lockett
a free agent last March and he was unsigned until the Jets brought
him in Jan. 2.
Long
Snapper
Travis
Tripucka (6'1", 240) — Tripucka, a UMass product,
signed with the Jets on Jan. 3. Last year he was with the St. Louis
Rams before being cut at the conclusion of the preseason. Besides
playing football at UMass, he also was a starting defenseman on the
Minutemen’s nationally ranked lacrosse team. Tripucka and Jets
OL Vladimir Ducasse were collegiate teammates for two
seasons. And yes, Tripucka is related to former Knicks TV analyst and
NBA player Kelly Tripucka (his father) and former Notre Dame, NFL and
AFL quarterback Frank Tripucka (his grandfather).
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