The Jets have added some veteran depth to their secondary. The team announced that they’ve signed defensive back Nik Needham to the practice squad. To make room, the team released kicker Harrison Mevis.
Needham burst onto the scene as an UDFA with the Dolphins in 2019, when he collected 54 tackles, 11 passes defensed, and a pair of picks. He settled into more of a part-time role in 2020 and 2021, although he still hauled in another four picks between those two seasons.
The defensive back started five of the first six games for Miami in 2022 before a torn Achilles ended his season early. When he returned in 2023, he was relegated to a bottom-of-the-depth-chart role, and he got into only a pair of games in 2024 while spending most of the campaign on the practice squad. Needham joined the Browns this past offseason before getting cut at the end of the preseason.
Michael Carter suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday that could put his Week 3 status in doubt, so Needham provides the organization with some extra veteran depth. Rookie third-round pick Azareye’h Thomas and 2024 fifth-round pick Qwan’tez Stiggers would likely get the first shot to soak up any leftover CB snaps.
The Jets weren’t finished. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the team also worked out veteran cornerback Arthur Maulet. The veteran spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons in New York, starting 11 of his 23 appearances.