Valentine Holmes faces anxious wait as New York Jets ponder roster
Valentine Holmes will have a nerve-racking couple of days as the New York Jets assemble their playing roster.
Valentine Holmes will have a nerve-racking couple of days as the New York Jets decide whether to keep the former NRL star on their squad or cut him loose.
Holmes had the best game of his brief NFL career against Philadelphia, but Jets head coach Adam Gase conceded his coaching staff were not looking forward to cutting their 90-man pre-season roster down to 53 by this weekend.
Holmes is one of six running backs in contention for three or four roster spots and appears likely to land on the team’s practice squad.
“There’s going to be some tough decisions to be made in the next couple of days,” Gase told reporters after the Jets beat the Eagles 6-0 in a lacklustre fourth and final pre-season game.
Holmes had more receiving yards than any other player involved in the game played at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
He had 55 yards from five receptions, including a 27-yard effort off a pass from quarterback Davis Webb, where he showed his agility catching the ball and tip-toeing along the sideline.
However, the 24-year-old’s performance most likely will not be enough to push his way into the Jets’ 53-man regular season roster.
Holmes impressed with his deft hands and speed in the open field, but made no impact as a running back where he was unable to break tackles. He had five carries for no gain and was given no opportunities returning punts or kicks.
NFL teams are usually allowed 10 players on their practice squads but the league’s International Pathway program provides an extra bonus spot and the Jets are expected to use that on Holmes.
If the Jets do attempt to put Holmes on the practice squad, he will initially go on the NFL’s waiver wire and potentially could be picked up by a rival NFL team.
Holmes shared the field against Philadelphia with two other Australians — Jets punter Lachlan Edwards and Eagles punter Cameron Johnston.
A fourth Australian, giant-sized former Sydney Rabbitohs junior Jordan Mailata, suffered a lower back injury last week and was kept out of the game. Eagles coach Doug Pederson was tight-lipped about Mailata’s injury.
“We are actually going to get another update in the morning so on Monday I should have a better update with where he is at,” Pederson said. There is media speculation the Eagles might trade Mailata or could use the back injury to place him on their injured reserve list for the regular season. That would allow the Eagles to avoid using one of their valuable 53 player slots on the inexperienced Australian.
Edwards is competing with American Matt Darr for the Jets’ one punter spot. The Mornington Peninsula product had just one punt for 41 yards against the Eagles.
Darr had three punts averaging 47.3 yards and a long of 52.
Geelong-raised punter Johnston is the only punter on the Eagles roster and showed his skills with the boot by starting the second half with a rugby style drop kick to kick-off.
Johnston had eight punts averaging 46.1 yards against the Jets, with five dropping inside the 20-yard line and a long of 67.
AAP
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