Joe Douglas is no stranger to NFL cutdown day, as he is now in his fourth preseason as Jets general manager – but that doesn’t mean it’s any easier for him to make decisions leading up to the 53-man roster deadline, which this year is 4 p.m. Tuesday.
"Cutdown's a tough day because we've got to say goodbye to 27 guys, and hopefully bring 16 of them back to our practice squad," Douglas told Ian Eagle on Sunday’s CBS broadcast of the Jets-Giants preseason finale. “It's a tough day just because these guys have given everything they've had for really the last few months, so it's tough saying goodbye to some of these guys.”
Head coach Robert Saleh has praised Douglas and his staff for putting together a strong 90-man camp roster, which has been trimmed to 85 and then 80 ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
And, as Douglas said, ideally they can keep 69 of the 80, but the reality is that the Jets will have to make some cuts that will end up on other 53-man rosters. It has already happened, as Gang Green has had an NFL-high four players released so far this summer that went to other teams.
“That's a credit to Coach Saleh and his staff," Douglas said. "When you do things we ask, you strain, you work hard, you pick up the playbook and you put good plays on tape, there's 31 other teams out there.
Those guys bought in. All those guys are just playing their hearts out."
And, of course, when others become available after every team makes their roster moves, there’s a possibility someone not in the building could end up on the Jet’s 53-man roster, too – and that the roster mechanics won’t stop there ahead of Week 1.
"We feel like we've added a lot of quality depth, at tight end, running back, D-end, the safety group, so really it's a very difficult decision to get down to 53 this year," he said. "Then once the cuts come out and we're fielding calls, we'll see what trade opportunities present themselves."
However, when it came to one disgruntled player, wide receiver Denzel Mims, Douglas was non-committal. Saleh said after the game that Mims was “one of our best six receivers” and expected him to be a Jet, but Douglas said during the game that he had “looked good” to that point and he had to do what was best for both Mims and the organization.
“Denzel obviously wants to play, he wants to be a starter.
We have a really deep wide receivers room, and Denzel's a valued member of that group,” Douglas said. “You see what he can do, especially on those play-actions, using that big frame, that big catch radius, seeing him running down there as a gunner covering punts. He brings a lot to the team. So we want what's best for Denzel. We also have to do what's right for the organization."
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