The Jets opened up three spots on their 90-man roster Thursday, but they only parted ways with two players.
Defensive lineman Paschal Ekeji has been designated as an international player, which means he does not count against the 90-man limit. He will also have a roster exemption if he lands on the team’s practice squad this fall.
Ekeji was born in Lesotho and played rugby in South Africa before deciding to try his hand at football.
The Jets also waived offensive lineman Gus Hartwig and safety Chris Smith. Hartwig spent last season on injured reserve while Smith played for the Raiders and Rams before joining the Jets last December.
The 2025 season did not go well for quarterback Geno Smith.
But he is set for a fresh start with the Jets, coming back to the team that drafted him after a decade elsewhere in the league.
His new offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, is also back in the pros after his last coaching stint with the Panthers lasted just 12 weeks.
On Wednesday, Reich noted that Smith is a “perfect” fit for his offensive scheme.
“I’ve liked Geno from Day 1,” Reich said in his press conference, via transcript from the team. “When he was coming out of West Virginia, I had a high grade on Geno. I had not met Geno before here, and I’m kind of glad because I’m even more impressed with him, now meeting him in person. I feel his resilience, his toughness, I always think the No. 1 attribute in any quarterback that you need, especially if you want to come and turn something around, is you need someone who’s tough. I mean tough mentally, tough physically, and I feel that from Geno on every front.
“I think his experience, the ups and downs that he’s been through, and he’s had great success, and had to deal with some tough seasons, and if you play in this league long enough, everyone’s going to face that. And if you are the person, if you’re the right kind of leader, then you come out of it better, and I think that’s the version of Geno Smith we’re getting. We’re getting the best version of who he is, and I think his best football’s ahead of him.”
From 2021-2024, Smith started 52 games for Seattle, leading the club to a 28-24 record while completing 68.5 percent of his passes for 12,928 yards with 76 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. If Smith is better than that, then the Jets will be in a much better position to have success in 2026.
Russell Wilson has reached a fork in the road in his career.
Wilson visited the Jets last week to talk to the team about coming aboard as a backup quarterback behind his former Seahawks teammate Geno Smith and there was a report later in the week that Wilson has also been talking to networks about a television role. Wilson confirmed that on Tuesday while saying he’s also mulling an offer from the Jets to continue his playing career.
“It was great,” Wilson said, via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “They offered me, and I’m trying to figure out what the next best thing is for me to do. I still know I can play ball at a high level, but also I have an opportunity to do TV, so we’ll see what happens.”
There’s no word on the details of the offer that the Jets made to Wilson, who began last season as the Giants’ starter but ended it as their third-string quarterback.
The Cowboys closed the book on the Micah Parsons trade during draft weekend. The team used the extra picks to make even more trades.
In the end. . .
The Cowboys sent the All-Pro edge rusher to the Packers. They traded defensive tackle Mazi Smith and a 2026 second-round pick to the Jets (later traded to the Lions) and the better of their two 2027 first-round picks to the Jets.
The Cowboys acquired defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, defensive lineman Kenny Clark, outside linebacker Malachi Lawrence (23rd overall), cornerback Devin Moore (114th overall) and defensive lineman LT Overton (137th overall).
The team has walked away from Parsons feeling as if they have won the trade.
“We feel really good about it,” executive vice president Stephen Jones told Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “Obviously, much respect for Micah and what he stands for and how he plays and the caliber of player he is. At the same time, we feel good about what we’ve added via that trade. You look at a guy like Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. They’re alpha players, who are not only great players on the field, but they’re leaders in the meeting rooms, how about they go about their business in the offseason. Just bring great leadership to this team.
“I just feel very optimistic that we have the right pieces in place. Ultimately, the decision we made was that one player is not worth four or five good ones, and we feel like that’s where we’re going to end up here in a good spot. We had that opportunity there. Didn’t feel like we were one player away last year, but I certainly feel like we’re putting the pieces together to give us an opportunity to go do what our fans deserve, what we want, which is to go and try to win the big trophy.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones predicted after the trade that Dallas would turn the trade into “three, four, five, six players for one.”
It’s unlikely that any one of the players the Cowboys acquired is as good as Parsons, but Williams is only 28 and has four Pro Bowls and is a one-time All-Pro. Clark is a three-time Pro Bowler.
The Cowboys, who are switching to a 3-4 defense under new coordinator Christian Parker, will have only three of the same starters from Week 1 of last season in what turned out to be a historically bad defense. If the Cowboys can have even a mediocre defense in 2026, they could contend, even without an All-Pro edge rusher.
With Malik Willis off to the Dolphins, the Packers have brought in a new veteran backup quarterback.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Green Bay is signing quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
Taylor, 36, spent the last two seasons with the Jets. He appeared in six games with four starts in 2025, completing 59.7 percent of his passes for 779 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 143 yards with one TD.
Green Bay’s backup position has been important over the last two years, with starter Jordan Love missing a pair of starts in each 2024 and 2025. Taylor fits the bill of an experienced backup, having appeared in 100 games with 62 starts since entering the league as a sixth-round picking 2011.
Taylor’s signing presumably puts five quarterbacks on Green Bay’s roster, pending any other moves. Aside from Love and Taylor, the club has Desmond Ridder, Kyle McCord, and Kyron Drones.
