Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh reacting in the middle of a training camp practice.
A lot of people noticed on social media that the New York Jets played defensive lineman Bryce Huff a ton during the Hall of Fame game on Thursday, August 3 versus the Cleveland Browns.
The Jet Press said, “I’d rather Bryce Huff not be playing in the 4th quarter of a preseason game. That said, probably an indication of how the Jets view him on their depth chart, unfortunately.”
I’d rather Bryce Huff not be playing in the 4th quarter of a preseason game.
That said, probably an indication of how the #Jets view him on their depth chart unfortunately.
After the game Huff “liked” the post that questioned why he was playing so late in a meaningless preseason game and how the team viewed him on the roster according to this screenshot from The Jet Press account.
Robert Saleh Addresses the Playing Time Controversy at Jets Presser
“I want to say this as well as I can when you look at our D-Line, knock on wood, and you look at who is going to play? Who do you want to sit? You could argue that all of them should sit. That’s in my opinion. They’re all pretty damn good football players and I think they’re all deserving of being on a 53-man roster somewhere if not here. Somebody had to play,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh explained on Sunday, August 6.
“Huff got some plays in the first half but we needed him and Will [McDonald] to be emergency guys in the fourth quarter because we were only playing four guys. Nobody plays four guys, especially in a group that rotates like we do. We only had four guys available in the second half and we just needed two guys to be there to just kind of spell. Not a knock on him [Huff], really more of a tip of the cap to him for going out there and doing what he has done. We think the world of Huff. He’s going to be a big part of this football team moving forward.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Huff appeared in 25 snaps versus the Browns on Thursday, August 3. Last season he averaged 13.64 snaps per game.
Saleh said after the game that the team sat “32 guys” off of their 90-man roster versus the Browns.
Huff is playing on a one-year restricted free-agent tender for $4.3 million. The former Memphis product is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent during the 2024 offseason.
The Jets Are Dealing With a First World Problem on Defensive Line
The Jets’ deepest positional group on the roster is unquestionably the defensive line.
General manager Joe Douglas loves the trenches and Saleh cut his teeth on the defensive side of the ball coming up in the league. Those two have invested a ton of premium assets into that part of the team over the last batch of years and the results have been stellar.
Ultimately in these preseason games, someone has to suit up and in this particular case, it was Huff. However, that has to be communicated to the players because obviously, Huff didn’t get that message based on his recent social media activity.
These are the pros and cons of the defensive line rotation concept that this coaching staff is committed to.
In theory, it sounds great to keep everyone fresh so you can attack opposing offenses in waves. On the other side of the coin though you have to keep the players engaged and happy.
Heck last season the Jets’ best player Quinnen Williams was caught in a viral moment barking at his defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton for the whole world to see on this very topic.
Quinnen Williams gets in #Jets DL coach Aaron Whitecotton’s face 😳
It is a very fine line to toe but if the Jets can pull it off it has proven to be a wildly successful strategy.
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Jets Youngster Causes Stir on Social Media About Playing Time