Relax! Thomas Morstead and Nick Bawden Return to Jets' Active Roster

Gang Green welcomes back punter and fullback while sending offensive tackle and tight end to IR

The New York Jets will carry a punter on their 53-man roster after all.

One day after being released by the team in a strategic move, veteran Thomas Morstead re-signed with the Green & White. Fullback Nick Bawden traveled the same path, returning to the team on Wednesday along with Morstead.

Freeing up room on the roster in order to welcome back their punter and fullback, the Jets simultaneously moved rookie offensive tackle Carter Warren and fourth-string tight end Kenny Yeboah to short-term Injured Reserve. 

Warren and Yeboah are now required to miss the first four weeks of the regular season. Had Gang Green not kept the two offensive players on their initial 53-man roster, Warren and Yeboah could have been claimed by another team.

Due to their vested veteran status, Morstead and Bawden were not eligible for waivers and instantly became free agents when cut with the idea of returning to the Jets after the dust settled. Morstead went as far as posting his intention to re-sign on the social media website formerly known as Twitter. 

As promised, Morstead, who told Jets' fans to "relax," rejoined the club that he signed a free-agent deal with back in March. The 15th-year pro punted effectively during the NFL Preseason, pinning the opposition inside its own 20-yard line on 8 of 16 kicks. 

With fullbacks being an endangered species, Bawden has apparently found his way into offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett's plans. The 2018 seventh-round draft pick played nine games for the Jets in 2021 but spent the 2022 campaign on Injured Reserve.

As for Warren and Yeboah, the offensive lineman missed the last three preseason contests with an undisclosed injury while the tight end deals with a hamstring issue.

In addition to the four roster moves, Gang Green inked 10 players to their Practice Squad on Wednesday.

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Transactions

• Signed P Thomas Morstead and FB Nick Bawden to active roster. 

• Placed OT Carter Warren and TE Kenny Yeboah on Injured Reserve (short-term).

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