Zonovan Knight's struggles vs. Bucs could lead to him not making final roster

The NY Jets knew they would have to make some very difficult decisions in their running back room when they added Dalvin Cook alongside the recovered Breece Hall. With Israel Abanikanda likely safe as a fifth-round rookie and Michael Carter looking better, Zonovan Knight seems to be a likely cut candidate.

Quality performance will always silence the haters, and Knight could have done that against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in New York's third preseason game. Unfortunately, despite being handed the start, Knight didn't do as much with that chance as some of his supporters would have liked to see.

After a nine-yard sprint on his first carry of the game, Knight mustered just nine in his next five carries against a beatable defense. When Knight fumbled in Jets territory following another impressive defensive stand, his chances of making the roster took a severe hit.

Zonovan Knight might not make NY Jets after poor play.

Knight was very uneven during his rookie season. While he totaled 230 yards in his first three games with the Jets, Knight mustered just 70 yards on 39 carries in his final four games. Knight's struggles against Tampa sting because he could have used this as a chance to get some positive momentum.

Knight lacks Carter's slipperiness between the tackles, Hall's pure speed when he breaks away, and Cook's big-play ability. Knight is also too small to become a short-yardage sledgehammer. Fumbling is a bad look, no matter what your style of play is as a running back.

With Carter not even dressing in this game and Abanikanda having flashed his stuff with touchdowns in consecutive games, Knight needs to show that he can grind out yards between the tackles well enough to prompt a Carter trade. That's tough, and it becomes tougher when you turn it over.

Even Zach Wilson showed more skill as a runner than Knight early on!

While Knight has likely shown enough to get snatched up by some team out there if he is unable to make the Jets, his stock is still falling at an alarming rate.