The JetsFix 2025 Roster TUG OF WAR

Due to the scheduling difficulties brought about by the truncated preseason and uncertainty over how soon after the last game the final cuts will leak, our usual four-leg roster relay wasn't going to work in 2025. However, being the most innovative wedding contoversies/Star Wars blog on the internet, we've instead come up with a new feature: The JetsFix Roster TUG OF WAR. And we have JetsFix royalty pulling out all the stops to bring us part one, as tommiesmithjohncarlos aka TSJC68, DEI King of Ffrance steps to the mic...

Two weeks away from cut day (4pm, Tuesday August 26th) and here's the first stab at predicting the 53 man and 69 man rosters, without the benefit of seeing Preseason Game #2 or #3 or knowing the health updates on the guys recovering from injury (or the guys that get hurt between publishing and 8/26) or any roster moves made in the interim. Let's prognosticate.

QB (2)
QB#1 Justin Fields
QB#2 Tyrod Taylor
WAIVED: Brady Cook, Adrian Martinez

With Tyrod recovering from surgery it's dicey to only keep one healthy QB on the 53, but Cook and Martinez should likely clear waivers and end up back on the PS so everyone stays in the organization. If Tyrod can't go for Week 1, one of the kids gets an elevation.

RB (4)
RB#1 Breece Hall
RB#2 Braelon Allen
RB#3 Isaiah Davis
KR/ST/RB#4 Kene Nwangwu
WAIVED: Donovan Edwards, Lawrance Toafili

Waving fan favorite Donovan Edwards is tough as he really has shown some flashes but it's a numbers game and he's just not one of the top 4 most important RBs on the team. The Big 3 are the Big 3 and Kene Nwangwu is too valuable of a weapon at KR to not roster. The chances Edwards slides through to the PS are higher than the people freaking out on Twitter think they are, IMHO.

FB (1)
FB#1/TE Andrew Beck
CUT/WAIVED: none

YEAH I'M THINKING I'M BACK
(insert several spectacular gifs here, many of them pornographic)

(Editor's note: I ALREADY WORK AROUND THE CLOCK).

WR (6)
WR#1 Garrett Wilson
WR#2 Josh Reynolds
WR#3 Tyler Johnson
WR#4 Allen Lazard
WR#5 Arian Smith
PR/ST/WR#6 Jamaal Pritchett
WAIVED: Malachi Corley, Xavier Gipson, Brandon Smith, Quentin Skinner, Pokey Wilson, Dymere Miller
MOVED TO PUP/RESERVE: Irv Charles

Wilson-Reynolds-Johnson is our big 3 here who I expect to get the lion's share of the WR snaps. Smith is the project to develop and use in go packages. Pritchett is feisty and skilled and makes the roster as WR#6 for punt returner alone, but he's also shown good stuff as a standard slot WR in camp practices and PS games as well. I think we still carry a 6th WR (I almost didn't, though, scroll down) and Lazard's overall experience and blocking prowess and utility has him still probably getting that spot over Xavier Gipson, Malachi Corley and Brandon Smith... but it's close and Lazard missing the next two weeks opens the door for one of them to take that spot from him by 8/26. If any one of them has good game(s) against the Giants or Eagles while Lazard sits, that job is in play. Gipson might have the leg up there as PR redundancy depth as well. Irv the Wolf probably spends most or all of 2025 recovering, maybe gets activated in December maybe.

TE (3)
TE#1 Mason Taylor
TE#2 Jeremy Ruckert
TE#3 Stone Smartt
WAIVED: Zack Kuntz, Neal Johnson

Ruckert Lives... for now. Still wholly unimpressive but he did at least make some decent blocks against the Packers and he's the warm body in the room we need until we find a better warm body. Taylor is the clear guy here and Smartt might well out-snap Ruckert in TE2 looks where we want a quality downfield target. In any event this is a prime area for a claim from someone else's cuts.

OL (9)
LT Olu Fashanu
LG John Simpson
C Joe Tippmann
RG Alijah Vera-Tucker
RT Armand Membou
T#3 Max Mitchell
T#4 Chuks Okorafor
IOL#4 Josh Myers
IOL#5 Xavier Newman
WAIVED: Carter Warren, Samuel Jackson, Kohl Levao, Marquis Hayes, Liam Fornadel
MOVED TO INTERNATIONAL PLAYER PATHWAY/RESERVE: Leander Wiegand

So far through camp Max Mitchell looks a bit better than Chuks Okorafor and I almost didn't roster Chuks (and similarly almost didn't roster Newman). We probably want 9 OL on the 53, though, and not just 8; you want two backups inside and two outside to give full depth and cover for whatever happens week to week. Could see this being another area where we claim a guy on Day 2 and shuffle the back end of this room.

OFFENSE: 25

DL (9)
EDGE#1 Jermaine Johnson II
EDGE#2 Will McDonald IV
EDGE#3 Micheal Clemons
EDGE#4 Eric Watts
EDGE#5 Tyler Baron
IDL#1 Quinnen Williams
IDL#2 Byron Cowart
IDL#3 Jay Tufele
IDL#4 Leonard Taylor III
CUT/WAIVED: Rashad Weaver, Braiden McGregor, Mike Fletcher, Kingsley Jonathan, Phidarian Mathis, Derrick Nnadi, Payton Page, Fatorma Mulbah

tough choices here to cut Rashad Weaver who has had some nice moments and tougher choice to cut Mathis/Nnadi/Page and only roster 4 true IDL. These were my final cuts. Can't keep everyone.

LB (5)
LB#1 Jamien Sherwood
LB#2 Quincy Williams
LB#3/ST Marcelino McCrary-Ball
LB#4 Jamin Davis
LB#5/ST Kiko Mauigoa
WAIVED: Zaire Barnes, Ja'Markis Weston, Boog Smith, Jackson Sirmon

At this point I don't think Kiko Mauigoa is one of our top 5 linebackers and I almost rostered Ja'Markis Weston over him just for special teams upside. But Mauigoa's our R5 draft pick we traded up to get we're not risking losing him before we see what he is, he makes the roster by default. (This also probably applies to Tyler Baron above in the DL grouping). Tough to say who is truly LB#3 between MMB and Davis; they both have their specific roles and usages. Either way this looks like a good fast athletic quality LB core going forward. MMB will also contribute on specials heavily. Would like to see some of those young linebackers back on the PS if possible.

DB (11)
CB#1 Sauce Gardner
CB#2 Brandon Stephens
CB#3 Michael Carter II
CB#5 Azareye'h Thomas
CB#6/ST Qwan'tez Stiggers
S#1 Andre Cisco
S#2 Tony Adams
S#3/CB#4/ST Isaiah Oliver
S#4/ST Malachi Moore
S#5/ST Jarius Monroe
ST/CB#7 Kris Boyd
WAIVED: Jarrick Bernard-Converse, Bump Cooper, Mario Goodrich, Jordan Clark, Dean Clark, Tanner McCalister

A big room with a lot of flexibility but lots of permutations. I'm keeping Kris Boyd, assuming he's actually healthy or will be healthy by Week 1, as he's probably still the top gunner we have on the roster. Others like Stiggers, Arian Smith, Weston, Pritchett etc. could help out here though and take his spot especially if he's not physically right yet. Boyd could also be an IR stash. Oliver does everything. If Oliver does enough of everything (and if Boyd's healthy) then maybe Jarius Monroe is the guy who ends up not making it; we like him but numbers are numbers.

DEFENSE: 25

ST (3) K Nick Folk
P Austin McNamara
LS Thomas Hennessy
WAIVED: Harrison Mevis

he's just too fat (and not quite good enough) sorry

SPECIALS: 3

25+25+3=53

OUTSIDE WAIVER CLAIMS MADE (12pm Wednesday 8/27):
none

WAIVERS CLAIMED BY OTHER TEAMS:
WR Xavier Gipson
WR Malachi Corley
EDGE Braiden McGregor

FREE AGENTS SIGNED BY OTHER TEAMS:
IDL Derrick Nnadi

17-MAN PRACTICE SQUAD ASSEMBLED (4pm Wednesday 8/27):
QB#3 Brady Cook
QB#4 Adrian Martinez
RB#5 Donovan Edwards
WR#7 Brandon Smith
WR#8 Quentin Skinner
OL#10 G Kohl Levao
OL#11 T Samuel Jackson
EDGE#6 Rashad Weaver
IDL#5 Phidarian Mathis
IDL#6 Payton Page
LB#6 Ja'Markis Weston
LB#7 Boog Smith
CB#8 Jordan Clark
CB#9 Bump Cooper
S#6 Dean Clark
K#2 Harrison Mevis
IPP exemption Leander Wiegand (practices with the team, does not count towards the 16 man limit, cannot be activated week-to-week)

OUT OF THE ORGANIZATION (for now, may latch on to someone else's PS maybe)
Lawrance Toafili, Pokey Wilson, Dymere Miller, Zack Kuntz, Neal Johnson, Marquis Hayes, Liam Fornadel, Carter Warren, Mike Fletcher, Fatorma Mulbah, Kingsley Jonathan, Mario Goodrich, Jarrick Bernard-Converse, Tanner McCalister

Would YOU like to take the other end of the rope to post your own 53-man roster projection to rival 68's here? Apply within...