While the New York Jets continue to wait on the Aaron Rodgers situation to work itself out, the team decided on a largely unpopular player who helped put them in this predicament.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported Thursday that the Jets plan on waiving punter Braden Mann after attempting to trade him. Following Schefter’s report, the Jets took to Twitter to announce Mann’s release on Thursday afternoon.
We've released P Braden Mann.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 13, 2023
Rather than trading for the 2020 sixth-round pick, the remaining 31 NFL teams will be able to claim the 25-year-old punter. The Jets decided to move on from Mann after signing 37-year-old Thomas Morstead to a free-agent deal.
Mann became largely unpopular in the Jets fan base for a multitude of reasons, however, the biggest reason is likely a game-saving tackle that helped prevent New York from being in a position to select Trevor Lawrence. Mann tackled Nsimba Webster of the Los Angeles Rams with five minutes left in the fourth quarter of a December 2020 game.
Braden Mann's tackle on this play is what made Trevor Lawrence a Jag instead of a Jet 😅 pic.twitter.com/zO1cx1yRa0
— The Game Day NFL (@TheGameDayNFL) December 20, 2022
If not for the tackle, Webster likely would’ve returned the punt for a touchdown and the Jets would probably have fallen to 0-14 on the season. Instead, New York went on to win that game and that momentum helped them knock off the playoff-bound Cleveland Browns. The Jacksonville Jaguars locked in the No. 1 overall pick and selected Lawrence, while the Jets wound up selecting Zach Wilson with the next selection.
Needing someone to blame, Jets fans have turned to Mann, who was statistically one of the worst punters in the league last season. Mann was towards the bottom in net average per punt, despite being tied for the fourth-most punts in the NFL with 83.
Judging by the reaction on social media, Jets fans don’t seem too upset to see Mann leaving:
Now the Jets don’t have Braden Mann or Trevor Lawrence. #Jets #TakeFlight
— Jason Klein (@ByJasonKlein) April 13, 2023
Thanks for Zach instead of Trevor……. https://t.co/AxmZplkMOp
— Scoots (@Im_Scoots) April 13, 2023
One of the best moves we could’ve made this offseason!!!!!!! https://t.co/6awThXRftA
— The Jets Way (@JetsWayPodcast) April 13, 2023
The Morstead Era has saved us https://t.co/V3e96a59dU
— Joe Caporoso (@JCaporoso) April 13, 2023
Never been so excited about punter news as I am right now https://t.co/T8a1HXV1Xn
— Stephen Russo (@stephenrusso9) April 13, 2023
Braden Mann was so bad that Joe Douglas couldn’t even get a conditional 7th for him https://t.co/2XJYW9QRSi
— Nooner (@noonernation) April 13, 2023
THANK YOU GOD https://t.co/KRch3YDobh
— david (@NemecEnjoyer) April 13, 2023
Addition by subtraction https://t.co/z70mAzqEgk pic.twitter.com/yz9pbCTlcr
— Will Parkinson (@Willpa11) April 13, 2023
https://t.co/AhHsRtPEWI pic.twitter.com/BJXv5jrsw9
— Matt O'Leary (@MattOLearyNY) April 13, 2023
