Several ex-Jets get to work as football kicks off north of the border
In a reminder that we're not too far away from training camp, regular season football got underway this weekend in Canada. In a historically competitive first weekend, the first three games were separated by just four points with eight of the nine CFL teams in action.
As ever, there were plenty of familiar faces involved, although perhaps not as many linked to the Jets as we've seen in the past. The Jets currently have two former CFL players - Freddie Bishop and Frank Beltre - on their roster.
Let's take a look at who is currently plying their trade up north. You'll probably have been wondering what had happened to some of these guys:
CFL mainstays: There's a handful of players who've been in the CFL for a while that once were connected to the Jets.
Perhaps the biggest "one that got away" is Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray. Ray sat on the bench as the Jets' third-string quarterback in 2004, dressing for six games and even moving up to second-string when Chad Pennington got injured and missed three games.
Reserve Quincy Carter played well enough in those games that Ray never saw action and opted to return to the CFL at the end of the season. 55,000 yards and almost 300 touchdowns later, he's a Canadian Football legend and you have to wonder how he would have fared if he got his NFL shot. Now 37, Ray shows no signs of slowing down as he passed for over 500 yards in today's season opening win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Ray's favorite receiver this year looks like being SJ Green, a 32-year old five time all-star that joined Toronto in the offseason. Green and Ray hooked up on a series of spectacular passes in their first game together, including a spectacular one-handed catch. As good as that was, it's perhaps not quite as good as this legendary one Green made in 2012:
Green has his own links to the Jets as the team signed him in 2010 as a hot CFL prospect. However, they ended up releasing him after the first OTA practice.
Another Jet that was with the team in the offseason but did not make the team only to then became a multiple time all-star in Canada was Emmanuel Arcenaux. The 29-year old was with the Jets in 2013 and is entering his seventh season with the BC Lions.
Vidal Hazelton was in the same training camp with Arcenaux, but was much closer to making the roster before suffering a season ending injury in preseason and spending the year on injured reserve. Hazelton is entering his third CFL season and, while he was second in offensive rookie of the year voting in 2015, he's yet to live up to the successes of Arcenaux and Green.
Hazelton was catching passes from Ray for the last two seasons in Toronto, but moved on to the Edmonton Eskimos in the offseason. He caught a touchdown pass in the Esks' opener yesterday.
Another former Jet who is entering his fourth season in the CFL is running back Mossis Madu, who played for the Jets in preseason in 2013. Madu racked up 850 yards from scrimmage in 2014 but missed the entire 2015 season with a shoulder injury. In 2016 he signed for the Ottawa Red Blacks and played a key role in their Grey Cup winning season, rushing for 492 yards and three scores in six games. He missed the Grey Cup game itself with another shoulder injury but is back with the team for this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, former three-year Jet Jamaal Westerman has made a successful transition to the Canadian league. The 32-year old is entering his third year with the Winnipeg Blue-Bombers having racked up 25 sacks in his first two years. He was an all-star in 2015 with 17 of them. For context, current Jets Bishop and Beltre only have 17 between them in their entire CFL careers (51 games combined).
New to the league: Recent CFL signings include cornerback Aaron Berry who was with the Jets in 2012 and 2013. He joined the Argos last year, but was released despite recording a pick-six in preseason last week. However, he's been picked up by the Tiger-Cats.
Ray will be throwing to a couple more ex-Jets this season in Toronto. DeVier Posey, whom the Jets traded a draft pick for in the 2015 draft only for him to not make the team, signed with the Argos last season. Chandler Worthy, who was with the Jets in preseason last year, was added to the team this year.
In the opener earlier today, Posey had a monster game, breaking away for a 79-yard touchdown after having earlier dropped an easy one in the end zone and ending up with 147 yards on seven catches. Worthy was a non-factor on offense but showed some of the return skills that earned him a long look last year, although his longest return was negated by a flag.
On defense, another player new to the CFL is defensive lineman Jake Ceresna who saw action with the Jets in preseason last year. He had two tackles in his first game for the Red Blacks.
Another player with a connection to the Jets that joined the CFL last season is Kacy Rodgers II. While he never played for the team, he's - as you probably guessed - the son of the Jets' defensive coordinator.
Injured CFLers: There are a few more ex-Jets currently on the injured list, including offensive lineman Will Campbell, a former sixth round pick, and linebacker Troy Davis, who was a situational pass rusher and special teamer during the regular season back in 2013.
Keon Lyn, a defensive back who played for the Jets in preseason in 2015 and then spent time on the practice squad is also on the injured list, as is McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who attended the rookie mini-camp last month on a try-out basis.
Practice squadders: Finally, there are also a few interesting names on CFL practice squads. Due to the rules in Canada, there are limits to the number of non-Canadian players you can hold on your active roster, which often means that high profile rotational Americans are placed on the practice squad, albeit sometimes temporarily.
TJ Graham, a wide receiver whose time with the Jets is remembered more for his role in the "worst play ever" than his 67-yard touchdown from Mike Vick in a 2014 upset win over the Steelers. Graham was lying down in the end zone in an attempt to fool the Buffalo Bills on a kick-off return. It did not work.
Jalen Saunders was a fourth-round pick in 2014 but lasted less than half a season on the roster after a costly muffed punt and no pass receptions.
Finally, running back Terry Williams was briefly with the Jets in preseason last year. He had actually signed with the team on the same day as Ceresna.
We'll be keeping a close eye on the CFL to see whether the Jets gave up on any of these players prematurely or if we can identify any potential NFL-level talents.