Jets Country

Secondary Surprise: Jets Suddenly Release Expected Starter Bless Austin

The New York Jets released cornerback Bless Austin, suddenly parting ways with the team's most experienced corner just weeks before the regular season begins

Max Goodman

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Jets' secondary just got even younger.

In a surprising move, New York has released cornerback Bless Austin, as first reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Austin, 25, was expected to be a huge part of this inexperienced group of corners in 2021, poised to start and match up against top wide receivers. The Rutgers product racked up 63 tackles and defended four passes over 11 games last year during his sophomore season, taking a step closer to his potential at this level. 

According to Garafolo's report, New York was recently trying to trade the former sixth-rounder. Now, they've just decided to move on.

"He's a good young man," Jets head coach Robert Saleh said of Austin on Wednesday. "With the youth we have at corner and the competition that they've all been able to provide and the growth they've been able to have since OTAs and training camp, we're going to give those guys a run and give them an opportunity to compete over this last week and a half."

Asked who will take Austin's spot, Saleh said that decision is to be determined, but mentioned rookies Brandin Echols, Jason Pinnock, Isaiah Dunn, along with second-year corner Javelin Guidry.

Saleh added that with eight corners on the initial 53-man roster, this came down to a numbers game, an effort to prevent possible deficiencies in other position groups. Teams typically don't carry that many defensive backs and as this coaching staff has preached all offseason, they want to give their young corners a shot to succeed.

Earlier in the month, Austin addressed the media, confidently telling reporters that he's the "real deal."

“Click the tape and press play," Austin said. "Of course I make mistakes, but there’s also a lot of plays on that field I made that other corners in this league aren’t making."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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