The New York Jets have officially parted ways with wide receiver Xavier Gipson.
Gang Green announced the move on social media, and in a corresponding maneuver, they signed kick return specialist Isaiah Williams off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad.
Jets Add an Interesting Return Man to the Roster
With Gipson out the door, the Jets have turned to a new direction.
Williams, 24, is listed at 5-foot-10 and tips the scales at 185 pounds. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2024 out of Illinois.
He initially made the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster but was cut in November of his rookie season. Williams got claimed off waivers by the Bengals and has been with the team for the last 11 months.
Williams didn’t make the Bengals‘ 53-man roster, but he was on the team’s practice squad before he was swiped up by the Jets.
Appearing in 8 games (2 with Detroit and 6 with Cincinnati), Williams had 11 PRs for 93 yards (8.5 average) with the Bengals,” Jets senior reporter Eric Allen wrote in the press release.
Head Coach Aaron Glenn Breaks Silence on Gipson Decision
“Man, we’re trying to get the best players on this team that can play a role. At this point, I felt like we needed to have a change at that spot. It’s not just that, as far as accountability, it’s accountability in everything that we do. So I don’t want to just pin it on… I mean, he fumbled the ball, okay, he’s getting [cut], no that is not it. This was a number of things that led up to this,” head coach Aaron Glenn explained to the media on Wednesday, September 10.
“Xavier is going to be a player who plays in this league. I know he is going to correct it because of who he is as a person. I just felt like it was time to make a change. Between me and Moug [Jets general manager Darren Mougey], we had conversations about it and we made the change,” Glenn said.
Gipson Cost the Jets the Week 1 Game
The Jets held a 26-24 lead over the Steelers with 14:57 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh kicked off to the Jets. Gipson received the kickoff and went on to fumble it. The Steelers took two plays to convert that mistake into an immediate touchdown, swinging the momentum of the game. Pittsburgh took a 31-26 lead over the Jets, and that ended up being one of, if not the key moments that swung the contest. The Steelers won 34-32 in the season opener.
Jets Are Hurting at the Returner Positions
The two top returners for the Jets in the Steelers game may not be the returners in Week 2.
Gipson is gone, and dynamic specialist Kene Nwangwu is still being evaluated for a hamstring injury, Coach Glenn told Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.
Kene Nwangwu (hamstring) is still being evaluated.
Jay Tufele (personal) isn’t practicing today.
The team will continue to evaluate options internally to determine who will step up to fill that void.
Jets Steal 24-Year-Old From Bengals, Officially Release Xavier Gipson