The New York Jets have released former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Manny Jones from their 90-man offseason roster, the team announced on Monday. Jones was with the Steelers during the 2023 offseason, but did not make the final roster.
The Steelers claimed Jones wavers on May 16, 2023, and he spent the OTAs, minicamp, training camp and preseason with Pittsburgh last summer. He was released at the end of training camp.
Since then, the spent time on the New England Patriots practice squad and finished the 2023 season on the Jets practice squad. He-resigned with the club for 2024 before his release.
Jones worked in behind a deep group of defensive tackles for the Steelers, playing behind starters Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi and backups Armon Watts and Isaiahh Loudermilk.
In three preseason games with the Steelers last summer, Jones played 58 total snaps of defense, with most of his playing time coming in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he got 26 reps, according to Pro Football Focus. In three games, Jones did not record a single defensive statistic.
With the Cardinals in 2022l, Jones played in two regular season games and finished the season with 59 defensive snaps, six combined tackles, and one quarterback pressure.
In his five years at Colorado State, Jones played in 50 games and recorded 181 combined tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, one interception, two passes defended, and two forced fumbles.