The New York Jets have made a flurry of roster moves ahead of their road trip to Minnesota to play the Vikings.
Gang Green announced that they have signed linebacker Kai Nacua and running back Jonathan Ward to the practice squad. In a corresponding move, the Jets let go of defensive lineman Marquiss Spencer and wide receiver Diontae Spencer.
We’ve signed LB Kai Nacua and RB Jonathan Ward to the practice squad.
DL Marquiss Spencer and WR Diontae Spencer have been released from the practice squad.
Jets Bring Back Versatile Swiss Army Knife Kai Nacua
Kai Nacua should be a familiar name for Jets fans as he spent the summer with the team a couple of months ago through training camp.
Gang Green ended up cutting him on August 23 and he has remained a free agent since.
Nacua was a safety in college and had been throughout his NFL career since joining back in 2017. However, the Jets decided to convert him to linebacker during training camp.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said they converted Kai Nacua (@KaiNacua) S ➡️ LB + when talking about converted LBs said they call Jamien Sherwood (@JamienSherwood) ‘Florham Park Strangler’, ‘he has long arms & when he gets his paws on you it’s over’ 😳: 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight #JetsCamp
Shortly after making the conversion, he developed a reputation as a bit of a thumper despite his size at just 6 feet and weighing 205 pounds.
.@KaiNacua looks like an LB to us 😳
Nacua has played on six different NFL teams over the last six years. Prior to joining the Jets this offseason, he spent the last two years with the San Francisco 49ers.
That familiarity and knowledge of the scheme makes him a worthwhile addition alone.
Saleh has a history of converting safeties to linebackers and vice versa. It provides some nice versatility on the defensive side of the ball and also allows there to be extra depth at both spots just in case an injury occurs.
Musical Chairs at the Running Back Spot for Jets
With Michael Carter battling an ankle sprain, the Jets are hoping for the best and expecting the worst.
There is still a chance he can play on Sunday versus the Vikings, but the Jets have to be ready just in case he can’t.
Gang Green added Ward to the roster who has spent the last three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
The 25-year-old originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan.
Ward has appeared in 32 games during his professional career, but he has mainly contributed on special teams.
Over the last three seasons, he has played at least 45 percent of the snaps on special teams with a career-high of 58 percent in 2021.
He will start out on the practice squad and we’ll see if anything changes on that front as we progress through the week.
On the active roster, the Jets have the aforementioned Carter along with James Robinson, Zonovan ‘Bam’ Knight, and Ty Johnson.
Knight and Johnson will likely be the 1-2 combination looking towards the Vikings contest, as they were in the Chicago Bears game, but Carter’s murky status opens the door for Robinson to potentially get back into the mix.
He has struggled with the offensive transition from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Jets. In New York’s scheme, they want the running backs going north and south, instead of the dancing-around horizontal game that some schemes prefer.
Robinson also has lacked the burst the Jets were hoping to see in their running game. We all know he isn’t Breece Hall, but they were expecting a bit more in that category.
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Jets Bring Back Fan Favorite Thumper Ahead of Vikings Game