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The New York Jets ruled out six starters for Week 18 on January 6. That left the roster very short-handed heading into the regular season finale versus the Miami Dolphins and as expected, Gang Green made a quick flurry of transactions to remedy that on January 7.
The Jets official Twitter account announced the moves, informing: “We’ve signed S Will Parks, DE Bradlee Anae, OL Eric Smith, OL Adam Pankey and WR Irvin Charles to the active roster. S Lamarcus Joyner, CB Brandin Echols, OL Duane Brown, OL George Fant and OL Nate Herbig have been placed on IR.”
Bradlee Anae & Irvin Charles Headline Additions
We’ve seen Parks seesaw back and forth off the 53-man roster this season, but the more intriguing prospects getting a Week 18 opportunity are Anae and Charles.
The former was a preseason hero against the Atlanta Falcons, completing a scoop-and-score touchdown after a strip sack on quarterback Feleipe Franks.
An ex-fifth round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, Anae failed to register his first NFL sack during 56 defensive snaps with America’s team. He showed more of an impact on special teams in Dallas with 170 snaps and two total tackles.
With the Jets, Anae was an underrated addition that was behind the eight ball at a deep and competitive defensive end position in training camp. Despite that, he flashed enough during preseason and practice to win a season-long role on the NYJ practice squad.
Charles was another pleasant surprise this summer. The undrafted prospect first turned heads at rookie minicamp, earning an official roster sport alongside Calvin Jackson Jr. Throughout the preseason, Jackson got more fanfare than Charles but the 6-foot-4 wideout ended up sticking with the organization over his fellow UDFA because of his size and frame.
The former Penn State and IUP product finished preseason with four catches off 10 targets for 27 yards. He’s an intriguing prospect that fans should keep an eye on if he gets an opportunity on Sunday.
Smith and Pankey will also join the active roster to bolster the depth on a bruised and battered offensive line.
Jets-Dolphins Could Be Joe Flacco’s Swan Song
The soon-to-be 38-year-old Joe Flacco will get the start in Week 18 against the Dolphins with Mike White injured and Zach Wilson prepping for an offseason reboot. The veteran signal-caller addressed the media on January 6, ahead of what could be his final NFL start after an illustrious career.
“I’m excited,” Flacco admitted. “Anytime you get a chance to lace em up and you know you’re going to be out there to begin the game and give it a go, it’s very exciting. A lot of emotions go through your body.”
“It’s about going out there and doing your job and executing the game plan,” Flacco reiterated a couple of times during the presser.
Many fans questioned the choice to start Flacco over Wilson or Canadian Football League fan favorite Chris Streveler — who’s the much more mobile QB. It was even more surprising that Streveler was not included in that list of 53-man roster signings above, considering he’s out of elevations and Wilson could be an injury away from having to enter the game on Sunday.
As for Flacco, and whether or not he might call it quits after the 2022 season, the former Super Bowl MVP noted that he “[hasn’t] even thought about it.” Continuing: “It’s never really been a thought of mine. I’ve always said that… at some point the NFL’s going to make that decision for you but I love playing football and that’s what I do.”
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