Cutting Isaiah Crowell was the right decision for the Jets

On Thursday, the New York Jets announced that they had officially released running back Isaiah Crowell after just one season with the team.

Prior to the start of the 2018 NFL season, the New York Jets signed 26-year-old former Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell to a three-year deal in hopes that he could help rejuvenate the team’s consistently weak rushing attack.

Things didn’t exactly end up as the Jets had hoped though as Crowell was wildly inconsistent. On the season, he appeared in 13 games, rushing for 685 yards and six touchdowns on 143 attempts while averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Those stats are a bit inflated, however, as Crowell rushed for 219 yards (a single-game franchise record) against the Denver Broncos in Week 5. Aside from that, he had only rushed for more than 100 yards on one occasion. In addition, he finished the season on the injured reserve with an injury.

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What’s also important to remember is that Crowell’s time with the Jets wasn’t even highlighted most by his on-field play. Instead, he’ll likely be most remembered as a Jet for his touchdown celebration against the Browns when he essentially pretended to wipe his rear-end with the football. He was fined over $13,000 for his actions and the celebration most likely didn’t please team officials.

Ultimately, Crowell’s performance on the field was mediocre, to say the least. He was inconsistent and wasn’t able to provide the Jets offense with the spark it needed. That, in addition to his post-touchdown celebration, gives ownership a valid excuse to move on from him.

When you pair those things with the fact the Jets recently agreed to terms on a four-year $52.5 million contract with superstar running back Le’Veon Bell, however, it just doesn’t make sense to keep Crowell around, as the focus in the backfield will undoubtedly be put on Bell.

As far as depth goes, 24-year-old Elijah McGuire has shown promise as a situational back. The Jets also drafted Trenton Cannon in last year’s draft, though he’s seen more as a special teams player and a return man. Even so, the Jets could look to add more depth at the position in the later rounds of this year’s draft.

Simply put, the Jets just don’t have much use for Crowell any more and he didn’t do himself any favors with his performance and actions last season. Because of that, it made sense for the green and white to release him.

After all, the show now belongs to Le’Veon Bell.