NY Jets release WR Chris Hogan from IR, elevate a pair of rookies

The NY Jets have released wide receiver Chris Hogan from injured reserve.

The NY Jets have done a little housekeeping ahead of their Week 13 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. And one of those moves involved the release of veteran wide receiver Chris Hogan.

The Jets announced on Saturday that they had released Hogan from injured reserve and elevated defensive back Elijah Campbell and linebacker Noah Dawkins from the practice squad.

Hogan was originally signed by the Jets in mid-August following a slew of injuries at the wide receiver position. While he was initially signed to be little more than much-needed depth, he soon found his way into the starting lineup.

With the likes of Denzel Mims, Breshad Perriman, Vyncint Smith, and numerous others dealing with injuries, Hogan was thrust into a feature role in the offense. And it went about as well as anyone could have expected.

Hogan played in five games totaling 14 catches for 118 yards. His peak came in Week 2 when he finished with a team-leading six catches for 75 yards. However, he was mostly ineffective as a starting receiver.

As was to be expected for a 33-year-old receiver who totaled just eight catches the year prior.

Hogan would go down with an ankle injury in Week 5 and was soon after placed on IR. And with the Jets getting healthier at wide receiver, they decided there was no room for him on the roster once he got healthy.

As a result, the Jets decided it would be in the best interest of both parties if he was released.

The NY Jets didn’t just release Chris Hogan on Saturday

The Jets also temporarily elevated a pair of young defensive players from their practice squad, as each team is permitted to do every week.

Campbell was signed to the Jets’ practice squad last month after spending time in the XFL earlier in the year. The 25-year-old was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded cornerback during his brief time in the XFL.

Campbell is the second former XFL player to play for the Jets this season along with kicker Sergio Castillo.

As for Dawkins, the 23-year-old linebacker was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals last spring. He failed to make the 53-man roster, but was signed to the team’s practice squad.

In October of 2019, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Dawkins off the Bengals practice squad and he went on to play in 10 games for the team, pretty much exclusively in a special-teams role.

The Jets have very little linebacker depth behind the duo of Neville Hewitt and Harvey Langi so it makes sense for the team to provide a little additional insurance.

We’ll see if either Campbell or Dawkins make their Jets debut this Sunday.