NY Jets: 4 notable WR’s who you may have forgotten played for Gang Green

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The NY Jets have had some memorable wide receivers over the years, but not these four players.

The NY Jets have had their fair share of memorable wide receivers suit up for the green and white over the years. From the likes of Don Maynard to Wesley Walker to Wayne Chrebet, plenty of wide receivers have solidified their place in Jets’ history.

But for every Al Toon, there’s a Stephen Hill just waiting around the corner. Say what you want about someone like Hill, though, he is memorable.

And that’s the thing, you don’t always have to be amazing at your craft to be memorable. Jets fans will remember Vernon Gholston for eternity despite him not accomplishing anything in the NFL.

It takes a truly special set of circumstances for a player to be completely forgotten from Jets’ history. And it’s even rarer if that player has already established a name for themselves elsewhere.

Sure every team goes through their share of undrafted or roster-bubble players who ultimately get lost in the shuffle — their brief tenures nothing more than a forgotten moment of history.

But sometimes, a player who was once notable at some point in their career can follow that same path. And that’s what we’re here to look at today.

We took a look at three quarterbacks who “technically” played for the Jets in the past. Now we do the same with four forgotten notable wide receivers who played for the team.

As we did in the past, this will be including time spent on an offseason roster in the preseason, or any time that they were technically under contract with the organization. They do not have to had played a regular-season game with the Jets.

Let’s get into it.

Next: 4. Tim Dwight

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4. You may have forgotten that Tim Dwight played for the NY Jets

Tim Dwight is widely seen as one of the best return men in NFL history. He’s right up there with guys like Devin Hester and Gale Sayers in terms of explosiveness and excitement.

But while he’ll be most remembered for his time spent with the Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers, Dwight also had brief stints with a few other teams later in his career — one of which was the Jets.

Dwight signed a four-year contract with the Jets in the 2006 offseason and was projected as the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart as well as the primary return man.

3. You may have forgotten that Josh Cribbs played for the NY Jets

From one return man to another, some might remember Josh Cribbs‘ short stint with the Jets as it was more recent than Dwight’s. But much like his fellow special-teams ace, it was equally unimpressive.

Cribbs had put together a very successful career serving as the Cleveland Browns’ return man and third or fourth receiver for nearly a decade. But when he was let go by the team in the 2013 offseason, Cribbs began searching for a new home.

He would sign on with the Raiders but a disappointing preseason led to his release as part of final roster cuts. But he would get another opportunity when the Jets came calling in the middle of October.

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Cribbs would play six games with the Jets before a shoulder injury forced him to the injured reserve. In those six games, Cribbs did a little bit of everything catching two passes, carrying the ball 13 times, and returning 20 kicks and eight punts.

While he found marginal success as a returner, his use on offense didn’t provide much success and the Jets didn’t lose much when he landed on the injured reserve. Cribbs finished out his career with the Indianapolis Colts the following season ending his career with a whimper, not a bang.

The former Kent State quarterback will forever be known, much like Dwight, as one of the most accomplished and memorable returners in NFL history.

But he certainly won’t be remembered for his time with the Jets.

Next: 2. Kyle Williams

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2. You may have forgotten that Kyle Williams played for the NY Jets

Kyle Williams is probably the least notable player on this list. A sixth-round pick in 2010, Williams played just four years in the league making minimal impact on offense.

But the former Arizona State wideout will forever be remembered for his performance on one fateful night in January of 2012.

Williams and the San Francisco 49ers were taking on the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. With Ted Ginn out, the young Williams was asked to not only start at wide receiver, but fill Ginn’s normal return role.

Unfortunately, Williams had returned just six combined kicks all year and wasn’t exactly experienced in that role in the NFL. And his inexperience came back to bite both him and his team.

Williams would lose a fumble on two crucial punts including one in overtime that set up the eventual Giants win costing his team a Super Bowl appearance. That would prove to be the most notable moment of his career.

He hung around a couple more seasons with the 49ers before bouncing around in both Kansas City and Denver. Finally, in a last-ditch effort to save his career, he signed on with the Jets in June of 2016 only to be released just two months later before appearing in a regular-season game.

Williams sadly will never be remembered for the positives of his NFL career, but for two back-breaking mistakes that cost the 49ers a chance at Super Bowl glory.

And he certainly isn’t going to be remembered for his brief two-month run with the Jets in the summer of 2016.

Next: 1. Jacoby Ford

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1. You may have forgotten that Jacoby Ford played for the NY Jets

You might remember Jacoby Ford as the lighting-quick Raiders receiver who was once one of the more promising young wideouts in the game.

As a rookie in 2010, Ford finished the year with 25 catches for 470 yards and two touchdowns while also doubling as the team’s returner. He would lead the NFL with three return touchdowns while amassing nearly 1,300 yards in the return game.

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Unfortunately, injuries began to mount as he missed half of the 2011 season and the entirety of 2012 before returning as a shell of his former self in 2013. Unsurprisingly, the Raiders opted to move on after his rookie contract expired.

Though he would never play another NFL regular-season snap again, Ford tried to make a comeback with various teams and even spent some time playing in the CFL.

One of those teams was the Jets who picked him up in 2014 looking to recapture some of the magic from early in his career. But it soon became clear that Ford was no longer the same player and he was released in August prior to final roster cuts.

Ford’s NFL career could have gone completely different had he not run into the awful injury luck that he did.

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But either way, whether he found success or not, it’s likely that no one would have been talking about his time with the Jets.

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