Jets’ 3 surprise preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1

With his first season as the New York Jets' head coach around the corner, Aaron Glenn has his work cut out for him with the 2025 final roster cuts looming. After being a part of the process for over a decade, the 53-year-old is now the primary decision-maker for the first time in his career.

The defensive-minded coach has already left his mark on the franchise, wiping the slate clean ahead of his inaugural season. Upon landing in East Rutherford, Glenn informed quarterback Aaron Rodgers that he would head in a different direction. In doing so, he also effectively parted with All-Pro wideout Davante Adams.

By letting go of Rodgers and Adams, the Jets suddenly became one of the youngest teams in the league. Numbers will change once rosters are finalized, but New York's average age of 25.41 is the third-youngest in the NFL, according to Bookies.com. That change by itself is a complete shift from where they have ranked in recent years.

The Jets replaced Rodgers almost immediately by giving Justin Fields a two-year, $40 million deal in free agency. The lucrative contract effectively prevented any potential offseason quarterback battle, demonstrating Glenn's confidence in Fields as the first quarterback of his new regime.

Given the offensive turnover, Glenn made minimal changes to the Jets' defense. New York allowed the fifth-fewest total yards per game in 2024 and is already expected to maintain its elite status, making Glenn the franchise's ideal next leader.

New York is making changes all around, but they have yet to be made official. Once the team completes its final roster cuts, expect the Jets to part with a few notable names on their 2025 preseason roster.

WR Malachi Corley

Malachi Corley has only been with the Jets for two years, but he already seems to be on the roster bubble. After underwhelming as a rookie, the 2024 third-round pick has been unimpressive in the 2025 offseason, causing speculation that his tenure might already be in its final days.

Teams rarely release players like Corley so early in their careers, regardless of how poorly their rookie years went. However, many of those norms are set aside whenever a new regime takes power. The Jets named Darren Mougey as their next general manager within days of hiring Glenn. The new front office no longer has as much investment in Corley as previous leadership did.

Now on even ground with the rest of his teammates, Corley had to impress in the offseason. He has not. There have been some positives, but the majority of reports coming from the Jets' camp are less than stellar.

Adams' departure would ideally open up a spot for a player like Corley in the starting lineup, but he has not even come close. The Jets list him as a second-team receiver on their unofficial depth chart, but that standing is highly debatable. That placement has Corley above rookie Arian Smith and Jamaal Pritchett, which has not seemed genuine in the preseason.

If Corley is truly on the Jets' 2025 roster bubble, he could be in trouble. He does not bring anything to the table that Pritchett, Tyler Johnson or Xavier Gipson do not. New York would certainly not release Gipson, who doubles as the team's kick returner. Draft placement aside, the only reason they would keep him around would be for his youth.

Perhaps Corley's hypothetical release should not be too much of a surprise, considering the rumors about him from the team. There is just no justifiable reason that a day two draft pick should even be in the conversation just one year into his career.

DT Derrick Nnadi

The one area Glenn has tinkered with on the Jets' defense since taking over is the defensive line. New York signed three veterans in free agency, including longtime Kansas City Chiefs starter Derrick Nnadi. The team added another name to the group late in the preseason by acquiring Harrison Phillips in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Phillips trade essentially locks him into the starting lineup next to Quinnen Williams, leaving Nnadi, Jay Tufele and Byron Cowart to compete for rotational snaps. What previously seemed like a three-man race to compete for a starting job now appears to be a fight to remain on the roster.

The Jets already released two defensive players, Phidarian Mathis and Ryan Cooper, once the trade was finalized. But given their current roster outlook, at least one more interior lineman appears to have a pink slip in his future. New York may use its final preseason game as a final test, but Nnadi seems to be on the outside looking in.

Although arguably the biggest name of the group, Nnadi's effectiveness has undeniably waned in recent years. After starting 87 percent of his games in the first six years of his career, the Florida State alum was pushed to the Chiefs' bench in 2024. As a result, he recorded a career-low 11 tackles despite appearing in all 17 games.

Nnadi's premier skill has been as a run defender — he has just one sack in the last three years — but he struggled to maintain that in 2024. Nnadi could hardly get off his block and plug gaps the way he has been able to before, leading to a career-worst 40.3 run defense grade on Pro Football Focus.

When he first joined the team, Nnadi looked like a locked-in starter. Five months later, he now unfortunately looks like one of the Jets' top cut candidates from their 2025 preseason roster.

LB Jamin Davis

One day before releasing Rodgers, the Jets semi-shockingly parted ways with another veteran, five-time All-Pro C.J. Mosley. The move created a wide-open opportunity for their remaining linebackers to break into the starting lineup. Veteran Jamin Davis initially seemed like a leading contender, but now appears more likely to be a cut candidate.

Davis, a 2021 first-round pick of the Washington Commanders, has fallen off a cliff in recent years. After racking up 269 total tackles in his first three years, he managed just 18 stops in 2024. Washington declined his fifth-year option and released him after five games, beginning a downward spiral that led to Davis ending the season on the Jets' practice squad.

Regardless of his nightmare season in 2024, the Jets still had reasonably high hopes for Davis. As a former linebacker, Glenn has typically gotten the most out of his players at the position. However, with the preseason coming to a close, Davis appears to be behind former undrafted free agent Marco McCrary-Ball and fifth-round rookie Francisco Mauigoa on the depth chart.

After a brief attempt at a switch to defensive end, everything about Davis' career seems to be volatile in 2025. He has seemingly re-committed to his natural linebacker position, but the athleticism in coverage and pursuit in run defense he flashed early in his career now only comes in waves. Davis would still be a valuable reserve on any roster, but he is also now an expendable asset.

With each team only retaining 53 players, veterans like Davis are often victims of final roster cuts. He has already been on four teams in the last year. The Jets could benefit from keeping him on the roster, but Davis seems like a leading cut candidate in 2025.