The Jets have made a big change on special teams.
The club announced the release of third-year punter Robert Malone on Monday. To replace Malone, the club re-signed Ryan Quigley, who punted in three preseason games for the Jets this summer.
Quigley, 23, posted a 40.7-yard net average on 10 punts in the exhibition season. The Jets waived him on August 26. Quigley was on the Bears’ roster for the 2012 regular-season opener, but he was inactive.
Malone punted 16 times in the Jets’ first two games of 2013, recording a gross average of 46.1 yards and a net average of 37.1 yards. Nine of his 16 punts were returned, with opponents gaining 107 yards. As the Newark Star-Ledger noted in a feature published on Sunday, Malone wasn’t particularly sharp in the Week Two loss at New England.
The 25-year-old Malone had been the Jets’ punter in the last 18 regular-season games dating back to 2012.
In another transaction Monday, the Jets re-signed veteran linebacker Scott Solomon, whom they released last week. A second-year pro from Rice, Solomon was on the Jets’ inactive list for the Week One victory vs. Tampa Bay.
The Jets also made two practice-squad moves, signing linebacker Danny Lansanah and releasing wide receiver Rahsaan Vaughan.
