The Jets put two of their draft picks on injured reserve while setting their initial 53-man roster on Sunday. Sixth-round guard Anez Cooper and seventh-round safety VJ Payne both landed on the list. The Jets designated both players for return and they will be eligible to come back after the first four games of the regular season. Linebacker Tyler Baron will stay on the physically unable to perform list and is also ruled out for the first four games of the year. Cornerback Tre Brown, running back Chip Trayanum, and linebacker Mykal Walker went on injured reserve without the possibility of returning during the season. The Jets also waived or released DB Mory Bamba, WR Junior Bergen, WR Cam Camper, S Dean Clark, DB Jordan Clark, QB Brady Cook, LB Anthony Dunn, LB Paschal Ekeji, OL Courtland Ford, G Liam Fornadel, DB Keenan Garber, G Marquis Hayes, DT Jack Heflin, OL Xavier Hill, LB Jaden Keller, LB Nate Lynn, WR Malik McClain, S Jarius Monroe, DL Payton Page, WR Jamaal Pritchett, WR Quincy Skinner, DL Mazi Smith, DL Junior Tafuna, S Tanner Wall, LB Chase Wilson, OL Xavier Newman-Johnson, CB Samuel Womack, OL Landon Young, QB Bailey Zappe, TE Chase Curtis, TE Connor Hulstein, and RB Dominic Richardson
Jets rookie running back Chip Trayanum was injured on the final play of the first half against the Giants and was transported to the hospital wearing a neck brace. He is reportedly awake, alert, and has movement in his extremities
Over the last few months, we’ve been breaking down all undrafted free agents signed by the Jets. We continue today with former Toledo running back Chip Trayanum. The 24-year old Trayanum is listed at 5’10” and 224 pounds and spent time at Arizona State, Ohio State and Kentucky before breaking out with a thousand-yard season at Toledo last year, which earned him first team all-MAC recognition. Background Trayanam was a four-star high school recruit who began his collegiate career at Arizona State. He was productive as a true freshman as he racked up 290 yards and four touchdowns in four games, but then opted to redshirt because of the pandemic-shortened schedule. In the following season, he started three games but ultimately saw his playing time fall off after a couple of fumbles. He ended up with 402 yards and six touchdowns in nine games. At the end of that season, Trayanum opted to transfer to Ohio State, who initially converted him to linebacker. He had 13 tackles in that role, but then converted back to running back late in the season. He ultimately rushed for 92 yards, with the bulk of that coming in a game against Michigan where he rushed for 83 on 14 carries. In 2023, he was back at running back full-time and spent the year in a rotational role that saw him start three games. He had 373 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Having entered the season with just six receptions, he also added nine catches. 2024 saw Trayanum head to Kentucky where he was hoping to get an opportunity to start, but injuries limited him to just three appearances in which he rushed for 101 yards. However, in 2025, having made the decision to transfer yet again, he finally got his chance and rushed for 1,015 yards and 12 touchdowns for Toledo. He also caught 21 passes for 212 yards and two scores. Despite being invited to the East West Shrine Bowl and performing well at his pro day, Trayanum was not selected in April’s draft. Trayanum was one of the first round of undrafted free agents signed by the Jets and his contract reportedly includes $195K of guaranteed money. That’s a change from previous reports that suggested he didn’t have any guarantees. Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Trayanum brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study. Measurables/Athleticism Trayanum has solid size, and put together a solid set of workout numbers, highlighted by a 37-inch vertical and 27 bench press reps. He also ran 4.52 in the 40-yard dash and posted solid agility numbers. Usage As a running back, Trayanum has primarily been in a conventional role. He hasn’t really produced out of the slot or when lined up wide. As noted, he played a year of linebacker in college. He also played linebacker at high school, as well as safety and cornerback, and in youth football he played fullback and nose guard. Running ability Trayanam was productive even when in a reserve role, averaging over five yards per carry in his first five seasons as a rotational player and then averaging 5.6 as a starter last year. He’s more of a power back than a speed back, as he didn’t have a play of over 40 yards until he got to Toledo. However, he flashed some breakaway speed last year with a 57-yard catch and runs of 42, 63 and 75 yards. Over half of his 10-yard runs for his career came last season and he is decisive when he sees a lane. Trayanum runs with a physical downhill style and can drag tacklers, fall forward at the end of a run or straight-up truck a tackler in space. When moving laterally, he displays good footwork, keeping his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage. His numbers are not all that impressive in terms of breaking tackles, but he has the strength to break through an arm tackle or run through people and can make some good decisive cuts at times. As noted, he had issues with fumbles in his first full season at Toledo, which saw him benched. He seemed to have resolved them over the next few years with none in 2022,
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Heading into the 2026 season, the Jets have made a series of moves to improve the state of their roster and overall depth, but are they ready to compete for a playoff spot? In this series, we’ll break down the depth chart for every position group. This time, we’ll go in depth at the running back room... Starter : Breece Hall Backups : Braelon Allen , Isaiah Davis , Kene Nwangwu Key additions/losses : None, although Hall signed a three-year extension for over $15 million per year. 2025 ranking per PFF: Hall was 7th out of 59 qualifying running backs for overall grade Hall is coming off a career year, and still only 25 years old, so the Jets will be hoping he can continue to ascend now that they’ve resolved his contract situation. The Jets made a big commitment to Hall, giving him the sixth-largest running back contract in the league to ensure they retain him throughout his prime. Perhaps 2026 will be the year where he makes his first pro bowl. Davis and Allen give the Jets two viable backups, although Allen missed most of last season due to injury. Nwangwu can fill in at a pinch but is primarily on the team to return kickoffs. Undrafted rookies Chip Trayanum and Sam Scott should get plenty of reps in preseason and will look to earn a spot on the practice squad. Last season, the Jets primarily operated with a rotation that saw Davis entering the game on third down and relegated Hall to the bench for some key moments. While Davis caught 21 passes in that role, it was arguably not the optimal way of using Hall, who had 36 receptions. In 2023, he had more than twice that amount to lead all NFL running backs so he is clearly capable of contributing more in this area. New York was also hoping that Allen was going to start to make more meaningful contributions in the passing game, but he had just two catches in four games before his season ended prematurely, so he remains unproven. Despite the fact he’s entering his third season, Allen is still one of the Jets’ youngest players as he won’t turn 23 until next January. So far, his career has been underwhelming, as he’s averaged just 3.7 yards per carry. Allen reportedly bulked up to around 250 pounds during the offseason, so it will be interesting to see if he can still generate the same kind of burst and acceleration. In his first two seasons, he had a number of plays where he looked like he was going to break a big run but was tripped up at the second level, so if the additional weight can be beneficial for his contact balance, it could make him significantly more effective. Davis was drafted one round after Allen in 2023 and has had to wait patiently for opportunities at times, but whenever he’s been called upon, he’s had some good success. He has averaged 5.6 yards per carry and almost nine yards per catch in his first two seasons and arguably deserves the chance to see if he can maintain that level of production with a bigger workload. After a solid 2025 season with Allen mostly sidelined, Davis could have the inside track at the primary backup role. It may fall upon Allen to take his game to another level if he is going to push for that spot. Hall has been candid about how frustrating it has been to play for a team that loses so much, but now that the contract distraction is behind him, he is hungry and hopeful that the 2026 Jets are headed in the right direction. The Jets have retooled their passing game but already had a solid offensive line in place and haven’t made any changes to the running back rotation, so they appear confident that they already have the pieces they need to have an effective running game. With Geno Smith hopefully providing more of a pass game threat than any of the Jets’ quarterbacks on last year’s team, opposing defenses will be less likely to stack the box, so the Jets will hope for a balanced and effective offensive attack this year. You can expect Hall to be at the forefront of that
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