Coming into the 2024 NFL season, the New York Jets were hoping to get off to a good start after a disastrous 2023 campaign that was derailed by quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ injury in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills.
This year, the Jets were able to get a healthy Rodgers back under center, providing hope that the 2024 campaign would go much better than last year’s performance, when Zach Wilson was leading the charge at quarterback.
However, the Jets had one of the toughest challenges of any team to open the regular season, facing the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers on the road, which was a tall task, to say the least.
Even though the Jets seemed like a formidable opponent in the early going against the 49ers on “Monday Night Football,” San Francisco ultimately prevailed as it proved it was the better all-around squad and perhaps the NFC’s elite team to start the season.
As usual, changes are made after the season opener as coaching staffs around the league see what positions need to be upgraded or changed, which is what has happened for the Jets.
They are parting with running back Xazavian Valladay while adding offensive lineman Connor McGovern to the practice squad, according to the team on X.
We have signed Connor McGovern to the practice squad and released Xazavian Valladay from the practice squad.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 11, 2024
These aren’t game-changing moves for the Jets, but they won’t be hesitating this season as a bad performance could result in some other jobs lost, namely that of head coach Robert Saleh.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for the Jets and whether the loss to the 49ers is a bump in the road or something more detrimental to a potential title contender in the AFC.