Every preseason, there are a few returning players who find themselves in a similar spot: fighting for a roster spot.

The New York Jets have a handful of those players on their 90-man roster this summer.

Here are three players who struggled when Gang Green gave them regular-season opportunities but are making an impression once again in the preseason…

Marcelino McCrary-Ball, LB

Marcelino McCrary-Ball made the Jets’ roster last year as a pure special-teams player while being the team’s captain in that phase.

To make New York’s roster this year, though, it will take more than that. He will need to improve on defense and prove he can be a rotational player in the linebacker room.

Friday night was a step in the right direction, to say the least.

McCrary-Ball’s Week 1 preseason graded out very well at Pro Football Focus. He led 133 qualified linebackers in PFF’s overall grade (96.4) and coverage grade (94.3).

Is McCrary-Ball turning a corner defensively? We will see over the remaining two preseason games, but the Jets’ other depth linebackers, such as Kiko Mauigoa and Mykal Walker, also played fairly well, although McCrary-Ball had the best game among the three.

The Jets clearly value special teams, but it appears that Walker still has an edge over McCrary-Ball in terms of earning a roster spot. Walker has proven to offer much more defensively and was a late-season riser for the Jets last season.

Overall, in the final five games of the 2025 season, he graded out as PFF’s 10th-best overall linebacker with an 80.4 overall grade. Furthermore, he played an integral role on special teams, matching McCrary-Ball’s strength and playing the second-most snaps among Jets special teamers (302) last year.

Don’t get it twisted: last year, McCrary-Ball thrived in his strong suit on special teams, leading New York in special teams grade from PFF at 85.0. His struggles, though, persisted on defense, and he couldn’t be relied upon in a depth role there.

While McCrary-Ball isn’t out of the picture to earn a roster spot, he certainly isn’t a lock.

If he looks competent defensively throughout the team’s remaining two preseason games, at the very least, the Jets would have to consider keeping him around.

Jordan Clark, CB

Last summer, Jordan Clark landed on the Jets’ practice squad following a strong summer.

That earned him a promotion and a chance to play in five of the Jets’ final games in 2025, giving him a fair NFL opportunity to prove himself.

However, his level of play was not up to par, earning a 46.4 overall grade from PFF, ranking 144th among 154 qualified cornerbacks (minimum 100 snaps).

His struggles in coverage were persistent, allowing 16 of 20 throws in his direction to be completed for 140 yards and three touchdowns against zero pass interceptions and pass breakups. Overall, Clark surrendered a 1345.4 passer rating when targeted.

It was tough to watch Clark last year and believe that he is an NFL-level player. However, in his defense, he was an undrafted rookie, and he certainly shouldn’t have been put in such a role during his rookie season.

Also, he wasn’t an anomaly. The Jets’ defensive backs struggled throughout the year and grew increasingly sluggish as the season progressed.

Clark, though, impressed throughout Gang Green’s first preseason game of the year. He was consistently flying around the field and always around the ball.

While his defensive grade of 75.8 per PFF finished fifth on the team, he also played the team’s fourth-most defensive snaps (38). Additionally, he tied for the team lead in tackles with six while tallying three stops, the second-most.

The bad news for the Notre Dame product, though, is that the Jets’ cornerback room is very crowded. There is a very high level of competition for snaps from top to bottom.

To boot, he wasn’t the only CB on the roster bubble who stood out on Friday night, as rookie UDFA Mory Bamba out of BYU stole the show with four pass breakups and flashed why he is worth keeping around.

It looks like Clark’s best path to finding NFL snaps is once again to play well throughout the preseason, earn a spot on the practice squad, and work toward a promotion.

Jarius Monroe, S

Jarius Monroe’s situation is very similar to Clark’s in multiple aspects.

After spending most of the year on New York’s practice squad after a solid preseason, Monroe appeared in four games down the stretch for the team in 2025.

However, he struggled on defense when called into action, and earning a spot on the 53-man roster feels like a long shot at this point.

Beyond his poor showing last year, the Jets’ safety room, like the cornerback position, is one of the most crowded areas on the team’s depth chart.

Behind Minkah Fitzpatrick, there is a very competitive battle for the No. 2 job with Dane Belton, who appears to be the leader in the clubhouse, along with Andre Cisco and Malachi Moore, all vying for snaps.

Beyond that, there is also seventh-round rookie VJ Payne, who will unfortunately miss the preseason due to a bone bruise he suffered throughout training camp that will leave him sidelined for 3-4 weeks.

Monroe’s run defense grade from PFF for Friday’s outing finished second on the team (78.5), behind only Mykal Walker’s 81.5 mark.

He also tied with Clark for the team lead in tackles with six against zero missed attempts and ranked second in stops with three.

Ultimately, all three players helped their cases on Friday night, but there is still work to do.