5 NY Jets candidates to be cut going into the summer

4. Max Mitchell, OT, NY Jets

The Jets completely revamped their offensive line this summer, adding three new starters and some key depth pieces. The Jets' tackle room will look entirely different than it did a year ago, with three new core pieces in Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, and Olu Fashanu.

That's bad news for the incumbent tackles on the roster. Carter Warren has been running with the first-team offense with Moses sidelined for OTAs, but Max Mitchell has been stuck with the backups. That probably doesn't bode well for his future.

Smith, Moses, and Fashanu are locks for the 53-man roster, and it's hard to see the Jets giving up on Warren after just one year. That leaves Mitchell as the fifth tackle on the depth chart.

Mitchell struggled mightily in his second NFL season last year and appears to be on the outside looking in on the roster bubble. It might take a strong summer or an injury for him to make the team.

3. Zaire Barnes, LB, NY Jets

The Jets selected linebacker Zaire Barnes with a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft with the hope that he would carve out a role on special teams as a rookie. That didn't exactly happen, however.

Barnes appeared in just four games as a rookie and was a regular game-day inactive. He only received playing time as a result of injuries, mainly to fellow special-teams linebacker Chazz Surratt.

Barnes was an afterthought as a rookie and was unable to earn the Jets' trust as a special-teams regular. If that continues into 2024, it's hard to see there being a roster spot available for him.

Surratt is a favorite of both Robert Saleh and Brant Boyer, and Jamien Sherwood is the Jets' top backup linebacker. Throw in other special-teams standouts such as Sam Eguavoen and Marcelino McCrary-Ball, and Barnes might not make it through another summer with the Jets.