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The New York Jets will no longer stand for mediocrity.
During the Week 1 contest versus the Baltimore Ravens the green and white special teams unit was an utter disaster.
Greg Zuerlein, the Jets placekicker, missed a field goal and an extra point attempt. To make matters worse, Braden Mann had a bad day at the office highlighted by a woeful 20-yard shanked punt.
The Ravens immediately converted and changed a one-score 10-3 game to a blowout suddenly at 17-3.
Gang Green would go on to lose 24-9 and drop to 0-1.
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A Stern Message Sent to Braden Mann
On Tuesday the NFL’s transaction wire revealed that the Jets tried out four different punters:
- Joseph Charlton
- Jake Julien
- Ty Long
- Michael Palardy
There have been no further updates beyond the fact that the Jets worked out these guys, but regardless it sent a very strong message.
The scholarship is officially over for Mann.
He was originally selected as the No. 191 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft. It seems like the only reason he has held onto this job for the last three years is because of his original draft status.
It certainly isn’t because of his play.
On the Flight Deck Podcast hosted by Rich Cimini of ESPN, he revealed just how poorly Mann has performed.
Since 2020 (which is the year Mann came into the NFL) he ranks 22nd in gross punting average and 27th in net punting average. There are only 32 teams in the NFL for context.
Things Have to Change on 1 Jets Drive
The Jets have clearly come a long way in terms of talent. However, with that being said they aren’t good enough to overcome dumb mistakes and still win football games.
Gang Green can’t be missing chip-shot field goals and extra points. Specifically for the sake of this punter article, they can’t be sacrificing field position.
Right now Mann still has a job and these workouts simply show that the Jets are starting to evaluate other options.
While they get some credit for realizing there is a problem, what the heck took so long?
Mann has been abysmal for a while and seemingly at least once a game he blows a punt.
The only possible rationale for why he is still here is a Joe Douglas ego trip holding on for dear life that the 2020 NFL draft class wasn’t as bad as we all think it is.
It’s a weird flex considering punter is arguably the most replaceable position in all of football. If someone stinks for too long NFL teams, typically, have zero issues with dumping a guy and bringing in someone new that can get the job done.
However, that hasn’t been the case on one Jets drive.
Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for Mann if he holds onto his job heading into a Week 2 game versus the Cleveland Browns where field position figures to be a potential deciding factor in the game.
Although if this is the end for Mann, don’t let the door hit you on the way out, it’s time to solve the punting issues once and for all.
***UPDATE***
Per NFL Insider Aaron Wilson of the Pro Football Network, the Jets have added Ty Long to their practice squad. He was one of the four punters they worked out on Tuesday, September 13.
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