NEW YORK -- Dwight Lowery is gone, Aaron Maybin is staying, and the Jets added some much-needed depth to their offensive line.
The Jets' most surprising move as they cut their roster to the mandatory 53-player limit Saturday was trading Lowery, a versatile defensive back, to the Jacksonville Jaguars for an undisclosed conditional draft pick. Lowery spent three seasons with the Jets, filling in at cornerback and safety, after being drafted in the fourth round out of San Jose State.
"It was an opportunity for Dwight to go to a place where he's really going to be used and compete for that starting nickel job," Jets coach Rex Ryan said. "I think it was kind of good for Dwight to go to Jacksonville and get more playing time, and for us, we just felt we had the depth we needed in the back end."
New York currently has 10 defensive backs on its roster with five cornerbacks and five safeties.
"We're pretty much loaded," Ryan added.
Maybin, the former first-round pick who was released by the Buffalo Bills after two unproductive seasons, hopes to jump-start his career as a pass-rushing presence with the Jets. Ryan liked what he saw from Maybin in the preseason, particularly in the Thursday night finale against the Philadelphia Eagles when he had 1.5 sacks and just missed having another.
"He played well, and he's on our roster," Ryan said. "He's one of those guys we had talked about where we probably had three spots open, and I thought his play rushing the passer, that's what landed him on the roster."
Maybin was the No. 11 overall pick by the Bills out of Penn State in 2009, but he has yet to record a sack in a regular-season game.
The Jets' biggest concern this offseason has been their depth on the offensive line, particularly after the versatile Rob Turner broke his right leg early in the preseason. Unimpressed with the play of some of the other linemen trying to make the team, they acquired guard Caleb Schlauderaff from the Green Bay Packers for an undisclosed conditional draft choice.
Schlauderaff was drafted in April by the Packers in the sixth round out of Utah.
"He was a guy we were interested in drafting," Ryan said. "We had some high grades on him coming out of Utah. We watched the tape, and we're excited to get this young man."
Vladimir Ducasse, the Jets' second-round pick last year, has struggled and is the only other healthy backup lineman besides Schlauderaff.
"I think this, without question, helps us," Ryan said. "I feel better about our depth now than I did, that's for sure."
The Jets kept three players who are expected to miss several weeks with injuries, including Turner, rookie quarterback Greg McElroy (dislocated right thumb) and wide receiver Logan Payne (dislocated left wrist). Ryan said the team had no plans to place any of them on season-ending injured reserve "at this time," meaning the Jets will be three healthy players short unless they decide to otherwise.
McElroy is out indefinitely, so New York has just starter Mark Sanchez and backup Mark Brunell on the roster as quarterbacks -- and Brunell was unable to play in the preseason because of injuries. Ryan said the team's No. 3 quarterback for now would be rookie wide receiver Jeremy Kerley, although former JetsKellen Clemens and Kevin O'Connell are available.
We'll consider all the options that are out there, whatever presents itself, regardless of the position," Ryan said. "If we think there's a player that could help us, we'd certainly consider it."
Among the 26 players the Jets waived were wide receivers Scotty McKnight, a childhood friend of Sanchez, and Patrick Turner, a former teammate of Sanchez's at USC. They could land on the practice squad, but that leaves the Jets with Kerley, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason as the team's only active wide receivers.
"Would I be comfortable with (just) those four? Absolutely," Ryan said.
Linebacker Nick Bellore, an undrafted free agent from Central Michigan, was among those who survived the cuts Saturday after impressing Ryan throughout training camp.
"He was flying around, making tackles all over the place," Ryan said. "He definitely earned his spot here."
Fellow linebacker Garrett McIntyre also landed on the initial 53-player roster, capping a long football journey. The former Fresno State star signed with Seattle in 2006 after going undrafted and was in camp that summer with the Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans. He then played two seasons in the Arena Football League before playing in the Canadian Football League the last two years.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
