The Patriots released center David Andrews on Thursday and they moved to add an offensive lineman to the roster on Friday.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that they have agreed to terms with Wes Schweitzer. It’s a one-year deal for the veteran interior lineman.
Schweitzer played in 10 games for the Jets over the last two seasons and made a pair of starts. He was a Falcons sixth-round pick in 2016 and started 36 games in three years for Atlanta before moving on to make 24 starts over three seasons in Washington.
Andrews missed most of last season and Ben Brown saw the lion’s share of the time at center. Schweitzer gives them some experienced depth at that spot as well as at guard.
The Jets announced the signing of another defensive piece on Thursday.
Defensive tackle Byron Cowart is joining the team as a free agent. The team did not announce any terms of the deal.
Cowart has bounced around the league since entering the NFL as a 2019 fifth-round pick of the Patriots. He spent the 2024 season in Chicago and started seven of the 15 games he played for the Bears.
Cowart had 26 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and four quarterback hits in those appearances.
Quinnen Williams, Phidarian Mathis, and Leonard Taylor are currently the other defensive tackles on the team’s depth chart.
The Jets are adding a tight end to the roster.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they have agreed to terms with Stone Smartt. It will be a one-year deal for the former Charger.
The Chargers opted not to tender Smartt as a restricted free agent before the start of the league year.
Smartt signed with Los Angeles after going undrafted in 2022. He appeared in 38 games, started six times, and comes to the Jets with 31 catches for 380 yards and a touchdown.
Jeremy Ruckert is the only other tight end under contract with the Jets. Tyler Conklin and Kenny Yeboah are free agents after playing out their contracts with the team.
ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 has sparked a $25 million lawsuit.
The documentary focusing on The New York Sack Exchange included a clip of a 2023 interaction between former Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau and former Packers (and Jets and Vikings) quarterback Brett Favre. Gastineau blames Favre for giving the single-season sack record to former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan by going rogue with a rollout and a dive late in the 2001 season.
Via Christian Arnold of the New York Post, Gastineau has sued ESPN for an allegedly malicious and false portrayal. He seeks $25 million in damages.
“They will be held accountable for their malicious conduct and pay for misrepresentation of Mark,” his lawyer, Christopher J. Cassar, told the Post. “The Defendant intentionally damaged Mark’s reputation for ratings for ESPN and we intend to hold them accountable.”
The lawsuit alleges that ESPN “intentionally and maliciously did not publish” a key part of the meeting between Gastineau and Favre. The clip shows Favre extending his hand to Gastineau, but it never shows Gastineau shaking it. The lawsuit contends that they did shake hands.
Gastineau also claims that the clip of his interaction with Favre was used “without his consent or permission,“ and that Gastineau “has been attacked on social media with ridicule, scorn and contempt” because of the inaccurate portrayal.
ESPN declined to comment on the matter, when contacted by the Post.
We’ll see how this one plays out. It’s hard to imagine, for now, that ESPN made some key strategic edit or omission that alters the overriding message of the clip — that Gastineau remains upset and emotional about the perception (reality) that Favre took a dive for Strahan, allowing him to beat Gastineau’s record.
And, in our view, Gastineau has every right to be missed. It looked like a dive then, and it looks like a dive now.
Linebacker Jamin Davis joined the Jets late in the 2024 season and he will be sticking with the team in 2025.
Davis confirmed a report that he has agreed to terms on a new deal with the AFC East club. Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reports that it is a one-year deal.
The Jets claimed Davis off of waivers from the Vikings at the end of December and he did not appear in a game for the team. He joined the Vikings after being released by the Commanders earlier in the season and had five tackles and a sack in four games with Minnesota.
The Commanders selected Davis with the 19th overall pick of the 2021 draft. He had 282 tackles, seven sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries with Washington.
