Former first round pick headlines 3 potential surprise cuts for the Jets if they don’t play well against Giants

The New York Jets will line up on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET to take on the New York Giants for Week 3 of the preseason. When the clock strikes 0:00 on the game, it will not only be the end of the preseason and officially be a countdown to the Jets Monday Night game against the San Francisco 49ers in week 1 of the regular season, but it will signal the end of several player’s time with the organization.

Teams will start after the game immediately making roster cuts and Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh have some difficult decisions ahead of the 53-man deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

With that deadline looming, here are three players that may be surprise cuts as the Jets brass looks to get the roster down.

Takk McKinkley, EDGE

McKinley joined the Jets after a mini camp tryout in which he was impressive, but ultimately people (myself included) believed the move was simply a leverage play to get Haason Reddick to report. Fast forward two months and Reddick is still a no-show and McKinley has seen some significant snaps in the Jets defense.

The issue for McKinley is the Jets have a log jam of players fighting for a spot and they still have to believe that eventually, Reddick will show. McKinley is listed as second team on the Jets’ unofficial depth chart, but that is without Reddick. The Jets may choose to keep an UDFA like Braiden McGregor or Eric Watts in hopes of eventually sending him to the practice squad once Reddick returns.

McKinley hasn’t played poorly in the preseason, but he hasn’t necessarily set himself apart either. If the Jets feel that McKinley and one of their UDFA’s are close enough in talent, they may opt for the player who is cheaper and under team control over a former first round pick who wasn’t able to stay healthy.

Jason Brownlee, WR

Brownlee was one of the stars of Hard Knocks last season for the Jets. The rookie UDFA made some highlight catches on the show and on social media and eventually made the team. It was a heartwarming moment that on the show as the player most were rooting for saw his dream of making an NFL team realized. Unfortunately, the dream may have ended there.

In his rookie year, Brownlee appeared in only seven games and hauled in five receptions for 56 yards. This year he has been inconsistent at best when he has gotten reps. With the additions of Malachi Corley and Mike Williams, there might simply be no room left for Brownlee on the roster.

Still, he may have a shot to impress the coaches with a good performance on Saturday, although at this point, his best chance to make the team might be on special teams.

Max Mitchell, OT

The Jets spent all off season trying to improve their offensive line, and by all respects, they have. But there are only so many roster spots and eventually someone will have to be let go. The Jets brought in Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses and Olu Fashanu to play the tackle positions. John Simpson was signed to man the guard spot opposite Alijah Vera-Tucker. With Joe Tippmann at Center, that leaves only a few spots left between Carter Warren, Xavier Newman, Wes Schweitzer, Kohl Levao and Chris Hanson and Max Mitchell

Mitchell might be the odd man out as of now. In the game against the Carolina Panthers, Mitchell played the second half with the third and fourth stringers. He played well, but that might be more of a testament to his competition than his abilities. Meanwhile, Xavier Newman and Carter Warren have both performed very well this preseason against better competition.

Mitchell is a nice depth piece to have as he can play almost anywhere along the offensive line if needed, but he isn’t a starter in the NFL at this point. The Jets are all in on their new offensive line and might need to let Mitchell go. It could be interesting and telling how the team feels about him in how he is used against the Giants on Saturday.

Related: New York Jets 53-man roster projection after second preseason game