Getty Former Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Javin White making a tackle during an NFL game.
The New York Jets have officially added linebacker Kwon Alexander to the roster.
To maintain a 90-man roster the team was forced to make a corresponding move and they did so by releasing linebacker Javin White. The move was first reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network and was later confirmed by the official team account on social media.
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Oh What Could Have Been
The Jets initially stole White off of the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad last year.
The former UNLV product was an undrafted free agent in 2020 and floated between the Raiders practice squad and the active roster in a season and a half. Gang Green then signed him to their active roster back on December 29.
There was a lot of hope for the 25-year-old, especially considering the lack of options available in the linebacker room.
Unfortunately, he lost the numbers battle with the Jets. They had been flirting with Alexander since before the 2022 NFL draft.
After playing coy for weeks on the particular financials, they were able to come to terms during the first week of training camp. That move suddenly made White expendable and now he will be searching for NFL work elsewhere.
Linebacker Room Looks a Lot Different
It’s funny how big a difference one addition can make on a team.
The Jets were extremely satisfied with their two starters in CJ Mosley and Quincy Williams, but what if an injury happened? That is a question this coaching staff asked themselves several times over the last few months.
They didn’t make a significant or really any investment in free agency or the 2022 NFL draft to add another piece to the unit. That raised a ton of legitimate questions about the depth and now those have been answered.
Although there is a chance Kwon Alexander contributes even more than some people think. During Jets head coach Robert Saleh’s presser on Friday, July 29 he said that he wouldn’t put a ceiling on what Alexander can do here, “we’ll see where he is at.”
#Jets HC Robert Saleh confirmed the addition of LB Kwon Alexander (@kwon) & called him a ‘ball of energy’ + he wouldn’t put a label on it saying if he’s strictly depth or a starter, ‘we’ll see where he’s at’: 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight #JetsCamp
By the way that is exactly the right approach to have. It is the same thing he said back when Mike White had his Hall of Fame game versus the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021, you can never say never.
Why announce to the media that Alexander is purely a depth piece and nothing more? That does nothing but disincentive the player and put restrictions on things.
Saleh said the world is his oyster and it absolutely is. We’ll see what Alexander makes of this opportunity especially considering this is just a one-year deal. Believe it or not, the veteran linebacker is still only 27 years of age and is nowhere close to the end of his career.
In a perfect world, Alexander will impress during his opportunities whenever they come and cash in next offseason on a big money deal.
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