Clemens takes over as Jets No. 3 QB; O'Connell cut

Before the Jets embarked on training camp, the prevailing thought among many was that Kellen Clemens would be the odd man out and the No. 3 quarterback gig would go to Kevin O'Connell.

Turns out it's Clemens who's staying and O'Connell getting shown the door.

Clemens was forced to take a pay cut to stay, though, and finalized his new deal Tuesday morning, reworking the original $1.176-million tender he signed in April. That move allowed the Jets to waive O'Connell, who struggled in the preseason and never seemed to make much tangible on-the-field progress since he was acquired from Detroit nearly a year ago.

"The only way Kellen Clemens was not going to be on this team was if somebody was going to give him a chance to be a starting quarterback," Rex Ryan said. "I would've traded him, and I told Kellen that before."

So Clemens, drafted by the Jets in the second round in 2005, was given permission to speak with other teams about a trade. But he didn't find anything to his liking and decided to stay with the Jets. "You dance with the girl you came with," Clemens said. "That's the way I was brought up."

Pace on the mend

Ryan said surgery on Calvin Pace's right foot, which was performed in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, went well. He reiterated that Pace won't be available for the Sept. 13 season opener, but refused to rule the linebacker out for the Jets' Sept. 19 clash with the Patriots. "He's going to definitely miss the first week," Ryan said. "We'll see about the second week. I'm not sure."

Extra points

Ryan said the Jets are in "wait mode" with LB Adalius Thomas . . . The Jets signed former Seattle LB Ricky Foley . . . RT Damien Woody (back) returned to practice . . . S Brodney Pool (ankle) didn't practice.