The 2025 season has come to a merciful end for the New York Jets after getting beaten with a wrench by the Buffalo Bills in Week 18.
It’s time to turn the page to the future. The Jets did exactly that on Monday, January 5.
Gang Green announced on social media that they had signed five players to “reserve/future contracts.” That group included defensive end Paschal Ekeji, offensive lineman Liam Fornadel, linebacker Ochaun Mathis, wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett, and defensive back Samuel Womack.
International Pathway Lottery
The NFL is obsessed with global expansion. One benefit of that manifest destiny ideology is that teams get a roster exemption for the NFL’s International Pathway Program.
It’s a bonus lottery ticket to develop a unique talent from another country.
“Paschal Ekeji (6-4, 230) was signed to the practice squad on Nov. 27. The former rugby star holds citizenship in three nations and was one of 13 players from 12 countries selected as part the NFL International Player Pathway (IPP) Program class. In summer 2022, Ekeji was one of 49 participants from five countries – Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – in the first NFL Africa Camp. Born in the Southern African country of Lesotho, Ekeji played rugby for Grey College in Bloemfontein and later attended Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape province of South Africa. He most recently played with the Sharks, a southern African professional rugby team,” Jets editorial contributor Susanna Weir wrote in a press release.
Ekeji may reside on NFL practice squads forever, but how does it hurt the Jets to try and foster that talent? Spoiler alert it doesn’t. It’s low risk versus high reward. If Ekeji ever hits, the Jets won the jackpot. If he fails, Ekeji eventually gets released, and the Jets will move on to a new project.
The Story That Never Was…
Once a season is over, it’s funny to go look back at the storylines people freaked out over in training camp.
For the Jets, it was the curious case of Jamaal Pritchett.
Pritchett, 22, joined the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of South Alabama. In the wise words of Fortune from the movie Rudy, Pritchett was a “5 foot nothin’, 100 and nothin’” player on a 91-man NFL roster.
Not much was thought of him at the time. However, he made people start thinking about him after making plays in training camp and the preseason.
“Pritchett led the Jets with 4 receptions for 54 yards in the team’s 2025 preseason finale against the Eagles, and he finished preseason play with 7 total receptions for 70 yards,” Jets editorial contributor Susanna Weir wrote in a press release.
Despite those stats, the Jets dumped Pritchett during final roster cuts. Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic categorized that decision as “the most surprising” roster cut by the Jets this past offseason.
Fans freaked out on social media. Yet everything ended up working out.
Xavier Gipson beat out Pritchett for the return job. Gipson had a terrible fumble in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gipson got dumped a few days later. The Jets replaced him with some guy named Isaiah Williams from the Cincinnati Bengals.
It was a rocky road for Williams, but he eventually won the team MVP award for his efforts as a dynamic return specialist.
Pritchett, on the other hand, resided on the practice squad all year long. He did not appear in a single regular-season game.
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