The New York Jets finally made things official with veteran defensive tackle Al Woods on May 11, and in the process, announced an unexpected roster cut.
ESPN NFL insider Field Yates relayed the news, tweeting that “the Jets have released veteran OL Cedric Ogbuehi.”
The Jets have released veteran OL Cedric Ogbuehi.
Brought in after a litany of injuries in 2022, Ogbuehi started five games as a Jet, appearing in seven. It was the fifth franchise that the journeyman had played in a regular season game with since being drafted 21st overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015.
With Gang Green, Ogbuehi allowed 14 quarterback pressures and one sack over 176 pass blocking snaps according to Pro Football Focus. He was also penalized three times and earned a poor run blocking grade of 41.8.
Having said that, Ogbuehi was just re-signed as OT depth on April 18 and was expected to compete for a backup role in training camp. Given the Jets injury issues at the position, it’s a surprise that they’re willing to part ways with the swing tackle so early in the offseason.
Jets Announce Al Woods Signing at DT, Officially
Many Jets fans had been wondering what the hold-up was with Woods, who was first reported to sign back on May 3. Rest assured, the deal is now done on Thursday, May 11.
OFFICIAL: Welcome to New York, Al!! ✈
“Woods (6-3, 330) played last season with the [Seattle] Seahawks,” team reporter Ethan Greenberg detailed after the signing was complete. “In 14 games, he totaled 39 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits and 1 PD. Woods, 36, was first drafted by the [New Orleans] Saints in the fourth round out of LSU in 2010.”
“His most productive season came in Seattle in 2021,” he went on, “totaling a career-high 50 tackles and 3 pass defenses. Woods’ 1.5 sacks that season is the third most of his 12-year NFL career (he had 2 sacks in 2022 and 2013). He started in all 14 games he played in last season, registering 39 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 tackles for loss (tied a career high), 3 QB hits and 1 PD.”
Woods only ranked third for Seattle D-linemen in terms of run play stop percentage in 2022 according to PFF, but his average depth of tackle (yards gained before tackle is made) was a low 1.9 yards per tackle. He was even better in 2021 with a Seattle DL-leading 9.9% run play stop percentage and an average depth of tackle of 1.5 yards.
Greenberg also noted the journeyman’s ties to head coach Robert Saleh (2011 in Seattle) and recent addition Quinton Jefferson (2022 teammate), another D-tackle. Those two should act as a nice tandem again in New York, considering Woods is a rotational run-stuffer and Jefferson is an interior pass rusher.
Both should slot in alongside Quinnen Williams and Solomon Thomas in some capacity.
Twitter Reactions for Jets Decision to Cut Cedric Ogbuehi
Around the Twittersphere, Jets media members and fans commented on the Ogbuehi cut. ESPN’s Rich Cimini tried to make some sense of the decision, voicing: “The Jets had re-signed Ogbuehi on April 18, giving him a $120K signing bonus on his one-year, $1.3M deal. After signing Billy Turner and drafting Carter Warren, they have a lot of bodies at OT.”
Cimini is correct that there were a lot of offensive tackles on the roster, but fans quickly cautioned that you can never have too many. “I would held [Ogbuehi] through camp,” one fan argued before admitting: “He prob wanted to go.”
Another replied: “Hmm. After last year you would think they’d keep extra tackle thru camp but on the other hand there are only so many reps and they need to develop the young guys.”
“Imagine thinking they have a lot of bodies at OT after last season,” a third joked, and one final reaction reiterated that there are “never enough bodies” at offensive tackle.
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Jets Cut 5-Game Starter Unexpectedly After Finalizing Signing: Report