Jets Sign 26-Year-Old Former UDFA After Brief UFL Stint

Can this unproven guard make an impact?

Nov 26, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; UCF Knights quarterback John Rhys Plume (10) and offensive lineman Samuel Jackson (73) hold the war on I-4 trophy at midfield following defeating the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-Imagn Images | Douglas DeFelice-Imagn Images

The New York Jets brought in some offensive line depth as training camp is beginning in earnest.

Heading into the 2025 season, the Jets project to be relatively deep at offensive guard, with John Simpson projected to start on the left side and Alijah Vera-Tucker projected to start on the right.

However, it's never a bad idea to let talented backups duke it out in training camp, and the Jets introduced an inexperienced 26-year-old into the mix on Wednesday.

The team announced it had signed former Jacksonville Jaguars undrafted free agent Samuel Jackson, who has never appeared in an NFL game, and last played with the Houston Roughnecks of the UFL (10 games earlier this year).

New York also moved linebacker Aaron Smith off the active/non-football injury list and onto the active roster. Smith was an undrafted free-agent signing for the Jets on May 9 out of South Carolina State.

Jackson played five seasons of college football at the University of Central Florida, where he was one of the team's captains in 2021 and 2022. But he didn't garner much NFL attention, and he couldn't crack the Jaguars' roster in training camp in 2023.

Two years later, he's getting another shot. Perhaps the experience he got in the UFL will have him ahead of some of the other roster hopefuls at this point in the football calendar, and he'll need every advantage he can get if he wants to make the team.

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