Top 3 veterans the Jets should cut by deadline

After an offseason of roster turnover, the New York Jets have become a franchise run by young talent, but there might still be some roster adjustments to be made.

The New York Jets have just gone through one of the most fascinating offseasons by an NFL franchise in recent memory.

And that doesn’t necessarily mean successful.

The organization has gone ahead and purged its roster of almost all of its top talent in a clear sign that the team is looking towards the future.

Despite this, there are still a number of veterans that remain on the active roster as of this writing. Now, a team undoubtedly need veterans. But when those veterans start to take away playing time from younger players in need of development, or when the cost of keeping them on the roster outweighs their potential contributions, it may be time to cut them loose.

That being said, here are top three veteran players that the Jets should consider releasing. Also, stay up to date with our official live tracker of all preseason cuts as they work towards their final 53-man roster.

Next: 3. Chandler Catanzaro

3. Kicker Chandler Catanzaro

When the Jets signed Catanzaro in March of this year, it was expected that he would be the heir apparent to the recently departed Nick Folk and cruise into the 2017 football season as the Jets kicker.

This hasn’t exactly been the case.

Instead, Catanzaro has been engaged in a neck-and-neck battle with the young Ross Martin for the prestigious title of being the Jets place kicker.

It’s not like the veteran kicker is bad at what he does. Catanzaro has a track record of previous success dating back to the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Over those two years, he made 57 out of 64 field goals (89 percent) and set multiple Cardinals rookie records.

However, this success was relatively short-lived. Catanzaro had a disaster of a 2016 season connecting on just 21 of 28 field goals (75 percent) while missing four extra points. This led to the team’s decision to ultimately non-tender the former Clemson walk-on and his tenure in Phoenix was ended prematurely.

Thus far, we’ve seen the 2016 version of Catanzaro. His struggles in camp have been well documented and it’s looking more and more likely that the Jets will opt to keep the younger (and less expensive) Martin.

Next: 2. Buster Skrine

2. Cornerback Buster Skrine

With all the players the Jets cut this past offseason, it’s a bit surprising that they decided to keep around veteran cornerback Buster Skrine. Sure, he had a good first year with the team and it would be hard to formulate an argument that his signing was a disappointment, but there’s no denying that his play has slipped in recent years.

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I swear, every time Skrine falls down in coverage an angel loses its wings.

Skrine is 28-years-old and not getting any younger and it’s clear that his days as a solid nickel cornerback are behind him. Now, it’s not as if the Jets have an abundance of cornerback talent on the roster, and before they traded away Dexter McDougle this might’ve made more sense, but having Skrine on the roster is doing no one benefits at this point.

The Jets would be better off having second-year man Juston Burris play every down (rather than on the outside in nickel packages as they’ve been doing) and continue to work on the development of guys like Darryl Roberts and rookie Derrick Jones rather than stringing along a player like Skrine who has no future with the organization.

The former Tennesse-Chattanooga standout may have a little left in the tank, but that tank does not belong in the Jets vehicle.

Next: 1. Kenbrell Thompkins

1. Wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins

Let me start by saying that I apologize for that stretch of a pun during that last section, I don’t know what came over me.

Second, I will insist that this portion of the article is no indication of me still being bitter over his 2015 drop that may have ended the Jets season.

Alright, maybe I’m a little bitter….

That being said, when the Jets re-signed Thompkins in August of this year, it seemed as though he was nothing more than an extra body in training camp. However, it now appears that he’s climbed up the depth chart and might very well make the team.

At 29-years-old, Thompkins is a lot older than many would think and he possesses little potential upside for an unproven Jets wide receiver core. The team would be wiser to keep around younger players such as Charone Peake and even Chris Harper and try to develop them further.

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If Thompkins is released by the Jets, it may spell the end of his career as he didn’t garner much interest after he was initially cut from the Jets back in 2016. And despite what may have happened a couple of years ago, I’m sure most Jets fans still wish him the best in his future endeavors as many may have forgiven him.

Forgive but never forget.