NFL Writer Suggests Jets Will Cut Ties With 24-Year-Old Tight End

The New York Jets have made a few tough decisions this offseason. They opted to cut Aaron Rodgers and replaced him with Justin Fields. They've gone offensive heavy in the early rounds of the NFL Draft, too.

But there are still some tough decisions to make before the season begins.

Bryce Lazenby of Sporting News recently suggested the Jets could look to cut ties with 24-year-old tight end Jeremy Ruckert ahead of the season, potentially in favor of a veteran free agent option.

"Up until the 2025 NFL Draft, Jeremy Ruckert was penciled in as the starting tight end. However, Mason Taylor was the team's second-round pick and has an infinitely higher ceiling than any other tight end on the roster," Lazenby wrote. "Also, Ruckert has failed to impress to this point in his NFL career, and the team could just decide to move on. In three seasons, Ruckert has caught just 35 passes for 264 yards and zero touchdowns.

"What if the team decides to add a veteran free agent to backup Taylor? Gerald Everett is available, and he's been a much more reliable pass-catching tight end than Ruckert. Releasing Ruckert would also save the team around $1.3 million in cap space."

Cutting Ruckert doesn't make much sense for a few reasons.

First of all, he hasn't been given any time at all to succeed in the NFL. He's still just 24 years old and is far from reaching his NFL potential. Cutting him now would be quite early on the decision.

Secondly, the Jets just brought in Ruckert's college quarterback to be the team's franchise signal caller. Fields relied heavily on Ruckert in the red zone when the duo was at Ohio State. There's a good chance that Ruckert has a significant role in the red zone offense.