Grizzled Veteran Joining Jets' Practice Squad as Offensive Line Reinforcement

The 35-year-old left guard made 16 starts for the Buffalo Bills in 2022

It's not exactly the splash that the fan base was clamoring for, but the New York Jets made an addition to their interior offensive line on Tuesday afternoon.

The team has agreed to terms with free agent guard Rodger Saffold on a Practice Squad deal. The news was initially reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The 35-year-old Saffold hasn't played since the 2022 season, during which he started 16 games at left guard for the Buffalo Bills. He participated in the most-recent NFL Pro Bowl Games as an alternate, but the Bills chose to not re-sign the aging veteran.

After being taken No. 33 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft, Saffold spent his first nine pro seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. The 6-foot-5 Saffold, who began his NFL tenure as a tackle, has totaled 176 regular season appearance (173 starts) over 13 seasons.

Saffold has familiarity with Jets' current offensive assistant Keith Carter from their time together with the Tennessee Titans.

"Tough, smart," said Jets' general manager Joe Douglas on Tuesday afternoon. "He knows Keith Carter well, being with him in Tennessee. He's the exact type of person, competitor, mental makeup, toughness that we're looking for."

Saffold's arrival will help mitigate the loss of veteran backup Wes Schweitzer, who is headed to Injured Reserve along with starting center Connor McGovern according to Jets' head coach Robert Saleh on Monday. Schweitzer and McGovern both left the Week 8 win against the New York Giants due to injury and never returned.

The Green & White were already without second-round rookie Joe Tippmann, who doubles as the starting right guard and second-string center. Tippmann is working his way back from a quad injury that he suffered in the Week 6 win over Philadelphia.

The Jets finished out the 13-10 overtime victory over Big Blue without any backup guards available. Xavier Newman, a gameday Practice Squad elevation, initially entered the game at right guard but had to move to center as the emergency option when McGovern went down. Tackle Billy Turner came off the bench to play guard when Newman was forced into an in-game position switch. 

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