One Jets roster move just became painfully obvious after MNF loss to Dolphins

The New York Jets continued their underwhelming and underperforming start to the 2025 season with a 27-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football in Week 4.

While the final score might suggest a competitive, hard-fought game, the Jets were thoroughly outplayed for much of the contest. Miami certainly did some of the damage, but the Jets also found several ways to sabotage themselves.

Untimely penalties, fumbles, and boneheaded mistakes derailed any chances of a Jets comeback bid, and perhaps no individual player was more at fault than return specialist Isaiah Williams.

Williams fumbled on the opening kickoff in the second half, at a time when the Jets were trailing by just seven points. A few minutes later, following a crucial forced three-and-out by the Jets defense, Williams inexplicably called for a fair catch on a punt at his own two-yard line.

The Jets would manage just 28 yards on that drive before punting the ball back to the Dolphins, who proceeded to eat even more clock and extend their lead back to 14. Those two mistakes may have cost the Jets this game.

The Jets have to cut Isaiah Williams after his Week 4 blunders

You could make a strong case that Williams' fumble to start the second half was the turning point of the game. The Jets managed to get a little momentum at the end of the first half, with 40-year-old kicker Nick Folk connecting on a career-long 58-yarder just before the break.

Justin Fields and the offense were set to take the field with a chance to tie the game at 10 early in the third quarter. Instead, Williams' fumble set the Dolphins up in plus territory, where they would proceed to find the end zone just six plays later.

The Jets signed Williams off the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad earlier this month following an injury to regular kick returner Kene Nwangwu. The team had also just parted ways with the incumbent Xavier Gipson following his Week 1 fumble that cost the Jets a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A few weeks later, it's Williams who will likely suffer a similar fate.

It's not even as if the former Detroit Lions UDFA was particularly effective before Monday night's game. Williams had returned two kicks for a grand total of 40 yards and one punt for 11 yards entering Week 4. He hadn't exactly shown much juice as a returner.

His performance on Monday effectively seals his fate, especially with the Jets hoping to get Nwangwu back on the field for Week 5. The former All-Pro returner has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury, but returned to practice in a limited capacity last week.

Once Nwangwu came back, Williams was likely already going to be out of a job, but his Monday night performance made that decision easier. Even if Nwangwu is unable to play on Sunday, there's no justification for trotting Williams out there again,

If the first four weeks of the season have taught us anything, it's that apparently Kene Nwangwu is one of the most important players on the roster. The Jets need him back ASAP.

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