NY Jets officially release Darryl Roberts in cap-saving move

The NY Jets have officially released cornerback Darryl Roberts in a cost-cutting move designed to create additional cap space.

The NY Jets made their second cut of the offseason releasing cornerback Darryl Roberts on Saturday. Roberts is the second player the Jets have cut this offseason coming a few days after the release of fellow cornerback Trumaine Johnson.

And with that, in a matter of days, the Jets’ Week 1 starting cornerbacks have both been released.

Roberts has spent the last four seasons with the Jets originally starting off as a depth cornerback/special-teams player. The Marshall product was drafted in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, but never played a game with the team.

He spent his entire rookie season on the injured reserve before being cut in training camp the following year. The Jets claimed him off waivers in 2016 and he would go on to make a pair of starts in 12 games.

Roberts would play sporadically in 2017 appearing in 15 games while starting four of them. But he would see his first taste of extended action the following season in 2018.

Due to various injuries to the likes of Trumaine Johnson and Morris Claiborne, Roberts was thrust into a starting role for the majority of 2018. Roberts would make 10 starts — at both cornerback and free safety — while playing in all 16 games for the first time in his career.

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And to his credit, he actually impressed quite a bit.

His 2018 play was enough to earn him a sizable pay raise in the offseason with then-general-manager Mike Maccagnan signing Roberts to a three-year, $18 million contract in the offseason.

The Jets went into 2019 relying on him as a starter — a considerable gamble given his lack of true starting experience. And as expected, the starting duo of Johnson and Roberts floundered.

Johnson played in just seven games before ending up on the injured reserve after being benched. Meanwhile, Roberts would battle his own injury troubles and make 10 starts sporadically, ending the season firmly on the bench.

It was a disappointing year for the 29-year-old, but not one that should have been unexpected.

Now, almost a year to the day of Maccagnan’s risky signing, new general manager Joe Douglas has undone his predecessor’s blunder. The Jets save $6 million in cap space that could absolutely be better allocated elsewhere.

Roberts will look to land a roster spot with another team, but don’t expect it to be in a starting role.

The cornerback rebuild continues and Darryl Roberts is just the latest casualty.