Roster cutdown day is always an intriguing time in the NFL. Teams have to make some tough decisions to get down to the 53-man regular season roster limit, and there’s always a few surprises along the way. The deadline to complete these cuts passed on Tuesday. The New York Jets moved 22 players to get down to 53 players, which included the long awaited move of parting ways with a high draft pick after just 1 season, receiver Malachi Corley.
Of course, the day after roster cuts is also a busy one, as teams can make waiver claims. The Jets were fairly active here, making three claims: linebacker Cam Jones, offensive tackle Esa Pole, and tight end Jelani Woods.
Waiver claims! pic.twitter.com/naPvXTkAE3
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 27, 2025
For those who don’t know, players who are released by teams while still on their rookie contracts do not become free agents. Instead, they are considered ‘waived’ and subject to the waiver wire. This system is like the NFL draft in that the team with the worst record from last season gets first dibs on waived players. Any player not claimed by the first team can then be claimed by the second, and so on.
Also, a player that is claimed by a team is required to be added to the active roster. That means that the Jets will soon have to release three players to accommodate their latest additions.
At face value, these claims don’t make a whole lot of sense. None of the three players claimed by the Jets add much value: Jones has just 18 total tackles in two seasons, Pole is an undrafted rookie, and Woods hasn’t played since the 2022 season. I’m not sure what value the Jets think they can get from these players that they didn’t have on the roster during training camp.
Look at the linebacker position for an example. Jamin Davis had been having a good camp and was considered by many to be a lock for the roster. Instead, the Jets released Davis and have now claimed another linebacker in Cam Jones. Does Jones really bring more value to the table than Davis with his 18 total tackles? At least Davis was already in the building and building chemistry with the team.
Maybe the Jets will end up being vindicated for their roster choices over the past 24 hours, but for now these moves are a headscratcher.
