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The injury bug has taken a casualty.
New York Jets wide receiver Malik Taylor was lost for the season officially. He was placed on the “reserve/injured” list which rules him out for 2024.
In a corresponding move, the Jets signed former Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman.
Taylor’s Misfortune Is Another Man’s Opportunity on the Jets
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said Taylor was “trending toward pushing for a spot” on the 53-man roster before his injury.
Taylor, 28, was a lesser heralded former Aaron Rodgers teammate who joined the Jets last offseason. He ended up appearing in three games. During that run, he registered two catches for 13 yards.
Taylor’s two biggest moments with the Jets didn’t appear on the stat sheet. In the Week 8, Jets versus New York Giants game Taylor drew a 30-yard pass interference call in overtime to set up a game-winning field goal by Greg Zuerlein.
In the preseason opener last year, Taylor was on the receiving end of a Zach Wilson 57-yard bomb in the Hall of Fame game versus the Cleveland Browns.
The moment went viral on “Hard Knocks” because Rodgers influenced the play on the headset.
With Taylor gone, a player some thought could make the 53-man roster, now that leaves a spot available for someone else to take advantage of.
A New Name to Keep an Eye out for on Defense
Taylor’s landing on injured reserve opened up a spot on the 90-man roster for the Jets with one preseason game left on the docket.
Twyman, 25, originally entered the NFL as the No. 199 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft. He spent the first year and a half of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. Twyman then spent 11 months on the Dolphins roster.
Most recently he has been with the Birmingham Stallions of the then USFL and the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL. Twyman’s contract was terminated so he could join the Jets in the NFL in August of 2024.
He has yet to appear in a regular season contest during his brief NFL career to date.
Due to the timing of this signing, Twyman doesn’t have a ton of time or opportunities to impress this Jets coaching staff.
This is the last week of training camp and it’ll conclude with the Jets versus the Giants in the preseason finale. Two weeks after that is the start of the 2024 season.
However, if he impresses, Twyman could have a much more realistic shot at trying to make the team’s expanded 16-man practice squad as opposed to one of the precious spots on the 53-man roster.
General manager Joe Douglas said during his introductory press conference in 2019 that he would turn over every stone to find talent to add to this Jets roster.
He has been a man of his word working the trade market, waiver wire, free agency, and even the alternative semi-professional football leagues to cultivate talent.
Entering 2024, the Jets boast one of the most talented rosters in football. That is a credit to Douglas’ creativity.
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