With the New York Jets’ starting defense sitting out the preseason schedule, safety Jaylen Key started all three games at safety, played 132 defensive snaps and made 11 tackles even though he was the last player picked in the NFL Draft on April 27.
That didn’t prevent the Jets from waiving Mr. Irrelevant on Tuesday, when NFL teams had to reduce their 90-player preseason rosters to the regular-season limit of 53 active players.
New York chose the Alabama defensive back at No. 257 in the 2024 NFL Draft. As the final pick in the draft, Key became 2024′s Mr. Irrelevant, and he was feted this summer during Irrelevant Week in Newport Beach, California.
Begun in 1976,Irrelevant Weekcelebrates the last player picked in the NFL Draft annually.
Key returned for a busy training camp and preseason, but the Jets’ initial 53-man roster features three safeties – Tony Adams, Chuck Clark and Ashtyn Davis. Adams was a starter for New York last season, Clark was a four-year starter for the Baltimore Ravens who missed the 2023 season because of an injury and Davis has started 21 games in his four seasons with the Jets.
The waiver designation doesn’t necessarily mean Key’s NFL opportunity is over. Every other team in the league has an opportunity to claim the safety before 11 a.m. CDT Wednesday. Waiver claims are processed in the same order as the 2024 NFL Draft before any trades were made.
If Key goes unclaimed, he will be free to sign with any team, and each NFL team can begin assembling its 16-player practice squad on Wednesday afternoon. Practice-squad members work just as active-roster players do during the week, but they are not eligible to play in the games – with one exception. Each NFL team can elevate two practice-squad players to active status for each game.
Before playing for Alabama in 2023, Key spent five years at UAB and played in four seasons.
