Highlights: Ex-Jets show out as Spring League gets underway

by Site Admin

Football is back! Well, kinda...

Yesterday saw the first of two double-headers featuring a mixture of ex-NFL players trying to get back into the league and players who never got their shot. Players had to pay a fee to enter the league, which includes familiar names such as Johnny Manziel, Zach Mettenberger and ex-Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill.

While the Johnny Football redemption tour grabbed all of the national headlines, Manziel's South team lost 11-7 to the North in the second of the two games, despite him throwing a touchdown pass. Earlier on, two fourth quarter touchdowns iced a 30-13 win for the West over the East.

While Hill didn't make an impact, there were a few ex-Jets who made big contributions. Let's check out some highlights:

Brown was a Jet for just nine days during preseason last year. He played eight snaps in their preseason win over the Titans, giving up a sack in pass protection.

Play of the day had to be this run by Brandon Burks, who was briefly on the Jets active roster at the end of the 2016 season. He carried the ball twice, netting minus-four yards as a Jet, but showed his ability on this play:

Finally, here's a play from Zach Sudfeld who played for the Jets in 2013 and 2014, starting five games and catching 10 passes for 148 yards. He also led the Jets in special teams tackles in 2014:

As unlikely as it seems, this league exists so that the players on show can impress teams enough to earn a shot in camp and NFL teams will be watching. It's not out of the realms of possibility that someone from this league could end up competing for a roster at a mini-camp tryout or something.

There will be two more games on Thursday evening.