NY Jets don’t claim or lose anyone on the waiver wire

The NY Jets were not awarded anyone on waivers nor did any of their players get claimed.

The NY Jets have officially set their initial 53-man roster. And this time around, it won’t feature a single waiver claim unlike in years past.

The Jets were not awarded a player on waivers this year, but at the other end of the spectrum, none of the players that they waived were claimed either. So in essence, it was an even tradeoff.

In fact, only 17 total claims were made this year — a steep dropoff from the 41 that were made in 2019. As many have speculated, this is likely a direct result of the fallout from everything going on with COVID-19.

A shorted training camp combined with the lack of preseason tape meant that teams were not only much more likely to stick with players who may have underwhelmed in the summer, but rely on guys they had already seen play as well.

It was impossible to adequately scout other teams’ players since the only events taking place were training camp practices. There were no preseason stars who stood out on tape. Only second-hand accounts of how players performed in other teams’ training camps.

The NY Jets will welcome back plenty of familiar faces.

The Jets, much like the rest of the NFL, will likely have a roster consisting almost exclusively of players who were on their training camp roster. That includes their 16-player practice squad which probably won’t feature too many new additions either.

So for fans hoping for the likes of Hakeem Butler, Sidney Jones, or Shaquem Griffin on the waiver wire, it was seemingly never a realistic option. For the record, none of those players got claimed.

Neither did Josh Rosen. Nor Ryan Switzer. Or any of a number of high-profile players who hit the waiver wire. Just 12 out of 32 teams were awarded a player on waivers — the Jets were hardly alone on this.

While some will undoubtedly be disappointed by this, it’s important to understand the rationale behind it and that, while frustrating, it is sound reasoning.

Expect to see plenty of familiar faces as the practice squad begins to fill up. And as for the Week 1 roster, don’t be surprised if all 53 players on said roster were around in training camp.