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Entering his second season, it’s going to be interesting to see what the Jets have in linebacker Zaire Barnes.
Last summer he looked very instinctive in camp, and today he showed good instincts, finding the ball nicely to stop a run by Izzy Abanikanda on a run up the middle.
Now there is no tackling in these spring practices, but Barnes did a good job of reading the play, and met Abandikanda in the initial hole.
It goes without saying that instincts are a big part of being a successful NFL linebacker, and Barnes seems to have plenty of them . . .
Speaking of linebackers, there was a crossing route by Jeremy Ruckert, who was left uncovered, and Aaron Rodgers hit the tight end for a nice gain.
I have no idea who’s fault this was, but it’s obviously totally unacceptable to leave a tight end wide open like this, but that is what the spring is for, to get the kinks out and work on stuff like this so it doesn’t happen during the season . . .
While this spring practices are voluntary, it’s always best for everyone to be there. One of the biggest surprises is that defensive end Haason Reddick hasn’t been in attendence.
The Jets acquired Reddick on March 29 in a trade with Philadelphia.
You would think the Camden, New Jersey-native would want to be here to acclimate himself to his new teammates and get comfortable in a new system.
So this begs the question – When the Jets made the trade for Reddick, did they tell the player and his agent they would rework his contract or did they acquire him with the understanding he would play out the last year of his contract, which is for $15 million this season?
Robert Saleh was asked today if Reddick’s absence is contract related?
‘I don’t know that,” Saleh said. “That would be more of a question for Joe (Douglas).”
It’s understandable that Saleh would defer that question to GM Douglas, who handles contract matters, but the problem is how do you ask Douglas that question, when he’s not available to the media right now? After the GM wraps up the draft with a press conference, he usually doesn’t speak to the media again until sometime in August.
We are going to need mega-agency CAA, that represents Reddick, to leak this information to one of the national NFL insiders. I wish I could help you with this one, but CAA doesn’t shop local, only with the national insiders, so hopefully one of those national insiders will provide us some clarity on this shortly . . .
The Jets signed an UDFA tight end two weeks named Kevin Foelsch from Ramsey, New Jersey and the University of New Haven. Not sure if he came in with an injury, but he’s currently sidelined with some kind of issue, and was held out of practice . . .
Speaking of tight ends, third-year tight end Kenny Yeboah, from Ole Miss, looked very good today. He has good wheels and can threaten all part of the field. One of his more impressive plays today was on a pass down the deep seam from Tyrod Taylor . . .
Offensive tackle Tyron Smith was held out of the OTA practice today. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him, and he was out there in drills coaching up other lineman. But it’s a smart approach by the Jets to keep his guy on a practice pinch count. His injury history is well-documented, not starting a full-season since 2016, so it’s incumbent on the Jets to give him days off here and there to keep him fresh . . .
June 4, 2024
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