The New York Jets rounded out their preseason schedule against the New York Giants on Friday evening. Soon after, the difficult decisions loomed.
By Sunday at 6 p.m. the Jets and rest of the NFL have to be down to 53 players on their roster. There is little time to worry about a 23-6 loss for head coach Aaron Glenn.
Jets Wire has already released our 53-man roster projection, and in an effort to level with Glenn, we had some tough decisions to make on that alone.
With that, here were the three toughest cuts from our final roster projection
WR Arian Smith
Smith did little to convince the team to keep him around this offseason. He did not flash in the preseason nor much at all in training camp. What this comes down to is draft status.
Smith was a fourth-round pick
by the Jets in 2025. That's a decent investment in a player to cut him before his second season.
CB Mory Bamba
This one all depends on Bamba's injury status. After his impressive preseason debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with four passes defended, the undrafted rookie signee has been out with a knee injury.
In a sense, an injury designation could keep him around. If that's not the case, could Bamba simply not gotten on the field enough? Losing a fan favorite is always disappointing.
DT Mazi Smith
Smith was acquired by the Jets in the trade that sent Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys. The Jets had hoped a change of setting might help him but that has not been the case for Smith. Since he landed in New York, Smith hasn't moved the needle much... including this offseason.
What makes this cut difficult is simply the trade factor. At least Smith was not the main piece of the deal for the Jets.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: 3 toughest cuts from our final Jets 53-man roster prediction
