New York Jets announce initial 53-man roster

By Michael Nania

Sep 5, 2020 - 4:39 pm

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Joe Douglas — Jet X Graphic, Getty Images

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Lawrence Cager, Nate Hairston, Jonotthan Harrison, and Josh Andrews are among the cuts for the New York Jets as they slim down to 53 players.

Darren Mougey, NY Jets, NFL, GM, Combine, 2025

All NFL teams were required to cut their rosters down to 53 players by 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, September 5.

With the deadline having passed, Joe Douglas‘ Jets roster is down to an initial group of 53 players. Of course, this group is very much subject to change. Across the league, players that were waived will be picked up by other teams – the Jets in particular could be active at spots like cornerback, wide receiver, inside linebacker, and the offensive line.

This is not the end for all players that were released by the Jets. Practice squads will be filled out in the coming days, and this year, they have been expanded to a limit of 16 players. The limit was previously 10, which was increased to 12 this offseason, and bumped up again to 16 (this year only) due to the COVID-19 circumstances. Look for the Jets to make an attempt to bring back young standouts like Lawrence Cager and Javelin Guidry via the practice squad.

The Jets will also most likely be placing some players on short-term injured reserve, opening up roster spots. In a new change effective for only this season, teams can place an unlimited number of players on short-term IR, and those players only need to be kept inactive for three weeks rather than the previous requirement of eight weeks.

Vyncint Smith, Jeff Smith, Patrick Onwuasor, and Conor McDermott are among the players who could see time on short-term IR. Joe Flacco, La’Mical Perine, Jabari Zuniga, and Cameron Clark may also be considered.

Here are the moves made by the Jets to slim down to 53.