Leading up to the Saturday 4pm deadline to cut the roster down to 53 men, 1,184 total players were cut in the NFL. Every team had some surprise moves and eye popping cuts. The Jets parted ways with longest tenured player Tanner Purdum, who’s been with the team since 2010. The Jets also cut, Ross Martin, who was battling with Chandler Catanzaro for the kicker job. Additionally, Deon Simon and Lawrence Thomas were sent packing their bags as well as many other players.
In 7 seasons with Gang Green, Tanner Purdum, the Jets longtime long snapper was flawless. He had no bad snaps and no penalties. But the Jets are in a rebuilding process and wanted to get younger. The Jets now turn to Thomas Hennessy, who was acquired from the Indianapolis Colts to take over as the team’s long snapper. The longest tenured player is now Muhammed Wilkerson and Bilal Powell.
Ross Martin was another surprise cut Saturday, as he outperformed Chandler Catanzaro for the kicker job this preseason and training camp. According Rich Chimini, “the coaches were concerned about his distance and hang time on kickoffs.” Chimini added, “Martin had only two touchbacks. Catanzaro had three touchbacks in four attempts. In terms of field-goal accuracy, it was a toss-up in game action.”
Going with Mike Pennel over Deon Simon was perhaps the biggest surprise Saturday. Mike Pennel has spent the last 3 seasons with the Packers and has 40 career tackles and 1 sack.
Another surprising cut on the defensive line was Lawrence Thomas, who made the team last year but sustained a season-ending shoulder injury early in the season. Thomas lost the job to Claude Pelon, who had a strong training camp.