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The New York Jets finally added some veteran linebacker depth on August 6, signing LBs Nick Vigil and Sam Eguavoen — first reported by sports agent David Canter on August 5.
“Two clients. Same position. Same agent. Signed on the same day to the same team. Congratulations to @GSEworldwide @gsefootball clients Nick Vigil and Sam Eguavoen (@Slugggaaa) on signing with @nyjets,” he announced on X.
Of course, two new additions also meant two cuts from the 90-man roster, and the players that were let go were former 2021 sixth rounder Hamsah Nasirildeen and undrafted rookie Maalik Hall. Both were linebackers, making this a clean swap by the Jets.
Jets Pull the Plug on Hamsah Nasirildeen Experiment… Again
It feels like déjà vu writing this, but head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas have decided to end the Nasirildeen experiment once again. This time, however, his release might be more permanent.
The college safety was one of two draft picks that were converted to the linebacker position in 2021 — the other being Jamien Sherwood. Nasirildeen’s transition never took as well as Sherwood’s though, and he was first cut last summer at the conclusion of training camp.
After re-signing with the organization’s practice squad, the reserve linebacker and special teamer did factor in seven games in 2022, registering 112 ST snaps according to Pro Football Reference. He also logged 224 special teams snaps over 12 appearances as a rookie.
On the other hand, Nasirildeen only earned 67 defensive snaps during his two-year run as a Jet. He’ll go down as another failed draft selection for Douglas — who had a rough 2020 class and a mixed 2021 group before his home run year in 2022 — with just two starts and 14 total tackles over his NYJ career.
Nasirildeen did leave the Hall of Fame game with an injury, although it’s unclear if that factored into the Jets decision to part ways with the bubble candidate. He was already a longshot to make the Week 1 roster in 2023.
Hall was a relative unknown heading into camp. He offered intriguing pass rushing ability and athleticism from the linebacker position, but didn’t do enough to flash in practice or the first preseason outing. According to team reporter Ethan Greenberg, the rookie had “spent five seasons with the [Southeastern Oklahoma State] Savage Storm and had 77 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 8 sacks in the 2022 season.”
Jets Finally Address Linebacker Need With 2 Veterans
It’s somewhat ironic that Gang Green brought in Vigil, being that we suggested him as an option in our most recent Heavy on Jets mailbag article on July 31.
A former third-round talent of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016, the Utah State product has been around the block a bit with seven years in the league. That, in itself, is pretty impressive for a position as physically abusive as linebacker.
Vigil did start for the Bengals from 2017 through 2019, and again for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. He also spent one campaign with the Los Angeles Chargers in between and appeared in four games with the Arizona Cardinals last year.
He has dealt with some injury issues in various seasons — including 2022, when his hamstring forced him onto the injury reserve — but this could be a quality upgrade for the Jets in an area where depth and experience were both needed. Behind C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams and Sherwood, Saleh had a bunch of rookies and prospects to work with prior to Douglas making these moves.
At his core, Vigil offers plus special teams prowess and NFL IQ. He’s never been much of a pass rusher but profiles as a sound tackler with some ability in coverage. At age 30 on August 20, the vet is probably nothing more than a key backup if he makes the 53-man roster this summer.
Eguavoen (age 30) first entered the league in 2015 according to Greenberg. He was undrafted out of Texas Tech, but quickly transferred over to the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 2016 through 2018.
His NFL return came in 2019 with the Miami Dolphins, and produced a 3.5-sack campaign where Eguavoen started six games and appeared in 16. He also logged seven tackles for a loss that season with nine QB hits.
After that, Eguavoen was more of a core special teamer for Miami but did manage to stick around on their roster for four years from 2019 through 2022. Similar to Hall, the former UDFA offers more of a pass rushing skillset with 42 career QB pressures according to Pro Football Focus.
Having said that, Eguavoen isn’t going to rack up tackles like Vigil with just 71 over his four NFL seasons compared to the latter’s 443 over seven.
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