Patriots Sign Veteran Ex-Jets OL Before Week 2 Contest
· Yahoo Sports
A former New York Jets veteran has crossed enemy lines.
Offensive lineman Xavier Newman-Johnson has joined the New England Patriots’ practice squad. He has bounced between the Jets’ active roster, practice squad, and free agent streets.
Visit sport-tr.bet for more information.
Over the last calendar month, the Jets have both signed and cut Newman-Johnson multiple times. It appears the big man has had enough of the game of musical chairs and is trying a different ride.
Experienced Offensive Lineman Walks out of the Door
When the Jets initially moved on from Newman-Johnson, it was a bit of a surprise.
The former Baylor product has appeared in 25 games and has made five starts. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Newman-Johnson spent the first two seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. He spent the last two and a half years with the Jets.
Now, the Jets moving on was surprising because offensive linemen are hard to come by, but it wasn’t surprising based on his level of play. Throughout training camp, he served as the primary backup to center Josh Myers. He consistently had issues with snapping the football, which threw off the timing of the offense.
Newman-Johnson becomes the fifth former member of the Jets to join the Patriots roster and the third offensive lineman:
Favorable Analytics for the Jets
The Jets are 1-0. They haven’t been 2-0 since 2015. How significant would that record be?
“Fifteen teams opened 1-0, and our 10-year study (2016–2025) says Week 2 is where they either bank the fast start or give it back. Teams that get to 2-0 make the playoffs 66.7% of the time — nearly two-thirds, and well clear of the 45.1% that 1-1 teams manage. They also win their division 39.3% of the time and reach the Super Bowl 11.9% of the time. For a club that’s already 1-0, the math is stark: win in Week 2 and that playoff number sits at 66.7%; lose, and it slips to 51.4%. 4 of the last 10 Super Bowl winners were 2-0 through two weeks,” RotoWire shared.
Superpowers
In Week 1, head coach Aaron Glenn called defensive plays for the Jets. Glenn claimed that is his superower. Well it was on full display in the season opener. Now the challenge will get stiffer against a quality offensive play caller in Matt LaFleur.
“Yeah, and I’ve said it before, that’s the fun part about being a play caller is not just putting your players in positions to be successful, but also man, the competitive nature of going back and forth between defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator and seeing how you can basically get in the mind of the coordinator. So, it takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of work, and I pride myself on being able to do that. And listen, I’ve been on the wrong side of those too. But man, when you have a group of men that you collaborate with that helps you be able to understand each situation that goes into a game, man that only helps. But I look forward to that competition,” Glenn explained at the podium.
Like HEAVY's content?Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Patriots Sign Veteran Ex-Jets OL Before Week 2 Contest appeared first on HEAVY.