Jets Make Multiple Roster Moves

Sunday’s game will be Shepard’s debut with the Jets, who added the former Giant and Buccaneer to their practice squad on Sept. 15. The 10-year veteran sat on the open market for six months after recording 39 catches for 371 yards and a touchdown in 13 games last season.

Shepard has 117 NFL games under his belt, whereas Pritchett has never made a regular-season appearance. After going undrafted out of South Alabama in 2025, he wound up spending his rookie year on the Jets’ practice squad. Pritchett did not survive roster cutdown day on Aug. 30 this year, but he made a quick return to the Jets’ p-squad and is now joining their roster for the first time.

The Jets are bringing up Shepard and Pritchett as they battle multiple injuries in their receiving corps. First-round rookie Omar Cooper, Tim Patrick and Arian Smith are all on IR. Meanwhile, No. 2 receiver Adonai Mitchell is questionable for Week 3 because of a finger injury, leaving the Jets with Shepard, Pritchett and undrafted rookie Malik McClain as their healthy options behind Garrett Wilson and Isaiah Williams. If there’s any consolation for the Jets, they will take on a struggling, banged-up defense this week. The Lions, who will continue to go without starting safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, rank second to last in the NFL in total defense, scoring and passing yards.

The Jets are hoping the Lions’ defensive issues lead to plenty of extra-point opportunities for Sanders, whom they are elevating for the third time. That’s the limit for practice squad players, meaning the Jets will have to sign Sanders to their roster if they want to use him again after this week.

Sanders, a former Dolphin who missed all of 2025 with a hip injury, has gone 4 of 5 on field goals and hit all four PATs this season. Although the Jets have veteran kicker Blake Grupe on their roster, they will turn to Sanders at least one more time. It could be a make-or-break game for Sanders, as the Jets presumably aren’t going to burn two 53-man roster spots on kickers.