Jets Country

Depleted By COVID-19 and Injuries, Jets Bolster Secondary With Veteran Defensive Backs

The New York Jets added safeties Kai Nacua and Will Parks to bolster their secondary as all other Jets defensive backs are out with COVID-19 or injuries.

Max Goodman

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The entire Jets roster has been impacted by injuries and a recent COVID-19 outbreak, but entering Week 16, no position group has been hit harder than the secondary.

With Ashtyn Davis and Sharrod Neasman on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and Elijah Riley in concussion protocol after his scary injury last Sunday, New York is in desperate need of help at safety.

That in mind, the Jets have made a few moves this week to bolster their depth in the secondary, adding a few veteran defensive backs.

First, New York claimed safety Will Parks off waivers earlier in the week. Then, on Thursday, Gang Green signed safety Kai Nacua.

Parks was most recently with the Dolphins before he was released by Miami a few days ago. The former sixth-round pick (to the Broncos in 2016) has played in 73 games over his six-year career. 

The vast majority of Parks' playing time has been in Denver, suiting up in a Broncos uniform for four seasons and making 15 of his 18 career starts. All in all, Parks has accumulated 180 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four interceptions, 13 passes defended, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his NFL career.

As for Nacua, the BYU product was recently on the 49ers' practice squad. In fact, he played under Jets head coach Robert Saleh last season in San Francisco during his final year as their defensive coordinator.

READ: Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh Tests Positive For COVID-19

During his rookie year in 2017, Nacua played in all 16 games with the Cleveland Browns, making three starts and 14 tackles. Since then, he's only touched the field in six different contests, all in a 49ers uniform.

With Marcus Maye also out for the season after an Achilles injury, and Lamarcus Joyner done for the year with an elbow injury, Gang Green is truly in an unprecedented situation, set to face No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars on Sunday. 

There's still a chance that Riley can play this week, but as of now, it looks like New York will be forced to use these new faces quite a bit out of necessity. Safety Elijah Benton could also see some playing time, a candidate to come off the practice squad for Sunday's game.

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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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