The New York Jets lost to the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 for a lot of reasons.
One of those reasons was an uncharacteristically poor special teams performance. A main culprit was wide receiver Arian Smith . After the game, there were demands on social media from fans and media analysts alike for the Jets to immediately move on from the mercurial wideout.
"Yes, it is a dead horse but it cost them 3 points on a punt return whiffed tackle. Cut Arian Smith. He can't play offense and he can't play special teams. Enough already," Jets analyst Joe Caporoso posted on X.
"Oh that was Arian Smith? Yo bro. Get him the [expletive] off the team today," a fan said.
"Please, get this man off my football team. A practice squad player can make this tackle, yet the Jets want to push the Arian Smith propaganda Didn't deserve a spot on the 53 and is proving it over the first two games," Jets analyst Dylan Tereman shared.
Here is the situation: the Jets led 17-14 in the fourth quarter with under five minutes remaining. Jets punter Austin McNamara punted the ball to the Packers' 18-yard line.
Smith had an opportunity in a one-on-one situation to tackle Packers return man Skyy Moore . Had he done so, Green Bay would have been at their own 20-yard line down three.
Instead, Moore shed that Smith tackle attempt and took it 63 yards the other direction to the Jets' 19-yard line. The Green Bay drive went nowhere, resulting in a quick three-and-out. However, the punt return set up the Packers to kick the 34-yard game-tying field goal.
"Make a tackle. Win 17-14. Stop wasting roster spots," Caporoso posted with a screenshot of Smith trying to make a tackle on that play from the game.
"The Jets need to bite the $372,080 bullet and release Arian Smith," Jets analyst JetsCap said.
There would be two points of hesitation that the team will have to consider or will consider.
Smith was the No. 110 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft. NFL general managers typically don't like cutting their own picks, especially high day-three selections. That is you admitting to the rest of the NFL that you blew the pick.
Secondly, the Jets are hurting at wide receiver.
Over the last two weeks, the Jets have placed two WRs on injured reserve: Omar Cooper Jr (ankle) and Tim Patrick (groin).
Patrick is out for a minimum of two more games, and Cooper is out for a minimum of three more games. The Jets played with four wide receivers in Week 2: Garrett Wilson , Adonai Mitchell , Isaiah Williams , and Smith.
Smith got hurt during the Week 2 contest, and head coach Aaron Glenn didn't provide a health update after the game. If the Jets chose to move on from Smith, they would have to replace him with another capable wide receiver. The team's thin depth chart could play a factor in their decision to potentially move on from Smith.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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