Jets reportedly to work out former Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey
Dan Bailey, one of the NFL's best kickers, was cut by the Cowboys, a surprise move that has opened the door for teams like the Jets to work him out. Credit: AP/Michael Ainsworth
The Jets didn’t make any waiver claims or sign any recently released free agents Sunday, but they reportedly will work out kicker Dan Bailey on Monday.
In a surprise move, Bailey was waived by the Cowboys on Saturday. He’s the second-most-accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history at 88.2 percent. Jason Myers’ hold on the Jets’ kicking job might be tenuous.
For now, though, the Jets’ 53-man roster is set. They will return to practice Monday and will begin preparing for their season opener against the Lions on Sept. 10.
“We will be ready,” coach Todd Bowles said. “You’re never ready until you play. We have to go out and play. I’m not one to sit up here and talk and say, ‘Rah, rah, rah.’ We go out and play and we prove our worth. There’s no sense in talking about it.”
It was somewhat surprising that the Jets didn’t try to add some depth on the offensive line or at outside linebacker. They’re thin at both spots.
They still are in the market for an edge rusher and reportedly met with former Chargers outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, whom the 49ers cut Saturday. But barring a move before the opener, the Jets will start the season with Josh Martin, Jordan Jenkins and Brandon Copeland as their outside linebackers.
The offensive line also is considered a weak link, but if left tackle Kelvin Beachum, center Spencer Long and right guard Brian Winters can stay healthy, it could be better than expected.
All signs point to Sam Darnold being the starter, but Bowles hasn’t made that announcement yet. It could come at some point this week, or not.
Gamesmanship and not wanting to give away any competitive advantages to the Lions could be the reason Bowles hasn’t named Darnold over 39-year-old Josh McCown.
Darnold has worked almost exclusively with the first-team offense in the last two-plus weeks of practice and started the second and third preseason games. McCown started the preseason finale, but that was with the second- and third-team offense.
Darnold said he would be comfortable if he were the Jets’ Week 1 starter, and he looks forward to growing as a player.
“I learned a lot in a short amount of time,” the third overall pick said. “Just excited to see where I can go from here in terms of my knowledge of the game and also just getting better fundamentally. Being able to just learn the offense, how much I’ve been able to grasp and being able to spit it out in the huddle, I thought I did a really good job and I improved a lot since the first game.”
After trimming the roster to the league-maximum 53 Saturday, the Jets started assembling their 10-man practice squad Sunday. There were some expected names — linebackers Frankie Luvu and Anthony Wint and defensive backs Brandon Bryant and Jeremy Clark, all of whom were cut Saturday. There also were some intriguing names, including Darnold’s former USC teammate, wide receiver Deontay Burnett, and former Broncos running back De’Angelo Henderson.
Also interesting but not surprising was that the Patriots — who will be without Julian Edelman for the first four games because of a suspension —
claimed former Jets receiver Chad Hansen off waivers. The Jets cut the 2017 fourth-round pick Saturday.
The Jets kept six receivers — Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Jermaine Kearse, Terrell Pryor, Andre Roberts and Charone Peake — and have another on the suspended list (ArDarius Stewart).
The Jets reportedly will work out another receiver, former Ravens first-round pick Breshad Perriman, on Monday. He caught 10 passes for 77 yards last season.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
