Roster Moves: Jets cut three, including Gilchrist, and re-sign Carter

by Site Admin

The Jets have officially announced three cuts ahead of tomorrow's rookie mini-camp. Per the Jets Official Site, the players released are:

  • Starting safety Marcus Gilchrist, who is coming off a knee injury;
  • Cornerback/return man Nick Marshall, who is suspended at the start of the 2017 season anyway; and
  • FB Chris Swain, who never played for the team.

The release of Gilchrist seemed likely after the Jets drafted safeties with each of their first two picks in last week's draft. The move will save the Jets just over $4 million in net cap space - or approximately $5.5 million if they treat the cut as a post-June cut and eat some of the dead money next year instead.

The Jets had reportedly also tried to trade Calvin Pryor, although Todd Bowles had discussed adding more three-safety packages so Pryor might still have a role. Since Pryor's fifth year option was officially declined earlier this week, his contract will expire at the end of the season.

Marshall and Swain were unlikely to compete for a spot next season, so their release is not unexpected.

We expect the Jets to officially announce their undrafted free agent signings soon. Based on the fact they only cut three players, it seems likely that a few of the players that have been reported as having been signed will just be at mini-camp on a tryout basis.

EDITED TO ADD: The Jets also announced that they re-signed Bruce Carter. Carter was mostly a special-teamer last year but did play 121 snaps on defense and adds veteran depth to a position where the Jets are short-handed. They are rumored to have added a couple of undrafted free agents that could compete with Carter for a role.