The New York Jets have picked up some scraps from the New York Giants.
Gang Green announced on social media that they have signed defensive lineman Ben Barten. In a corresponding roster move, the team parted ways with rookie undrafted free agent long snapper Garrison Grimes.
“Barten (6-5, 324) was waived by the New York Giants earlier this week. The lineman was an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin, and he spent his entire collegiate career as a Badger. In 2025, he played 360 snaps on defense and had a career-high 24 tackles including 2.5 TFLs and one sack,” the Jets shared in a press release.
The Bigger Story
It is always interesting when the Jets add new players, but in this particular case, the much bigger story is who left as opposed to who arrived.
Typically, when NFL teams add long snappers, it doesn’t move the needle. However, a lot of people raised their eyebrows when the Jets signed Garrison Grimes as an undrafted free agent.
The longest tenured player on the Jets is Thomas Hennessy. Hennessy has been with the Jets since 2017, and he is set to enter his 10th season in the NFL.
Before training camp began, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic called the battle at long snapper one to watch this summer.
“This is the first competition Hennessy has faced for the job in a long time. He currently holds the title of the longest-tenured Jets player, surviving coaching changes from Todd Bowles to Adam Gase to Robert Saleh to (on an interim basis) Jeff Ulbrich to Aaron Glenn,” Rosenblatt wrote.
“The Jets signed Grimes as an undrafted rookie and have kept him on the roster, which means Glenn and special teams coordinator Chris Banjo are letting Grimes push Hennessy for the job,” Rosenblatt added.
Well, that competition has come to a screeching halt.
Reporter for Jets on SI, Nick Faria, reacted to this news by posting, “Thomas Hennessy has won the long snapping battle.”
Hennessy was perceived to be in danger of losing his gig this offseason. Grimes posted a 10.00 relative athletic score out of a possible 10.00. In other words, Grimes was considered the “most athletic long snapper in NFL history.”
The demise of Hennessy was greatly exaggerated this offseason.
The Return of the Old Guard
On Saturday, August 1, the Jets welcomed the general public for back together weekend around the NFL. It is the first and only practice that will be open to the public during training camp this summer due to construction.
Head coach Aaron Glenn brought some old friends along to celebrate. On social media, the Jets posted a photo that featured several of Glenn’s old teammates who came to practice.
“AG’s former teammates supporting their guy,” the Jets posted on X.
“A handful of Glenn’s former Jets teammates watched practice, including Wayne Chrebet, Adrian Murrell, Ray Mickens, Fred Baxter, and Glenn Foley. Laveranues Coles also was on hand,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini revealed.
Glenn has done a nice job during his time as the Jets head coach of connecting the current players to those from the past.
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