NFL training camp starts at the end of the month, which means players around the league are getting their last bits of offseason work in before the real work of building the roster begins.
For certain players, this season is what some may call “Make or Break,” meaning they need to put together a productive year or they could be looking for employment elsewhere at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
We’ll highlight those players for the Jets, starting with LB Blake Cashman…
2020 Stats
Why Make or Break?
The Jets drafted Cashman in the fifth round of the 2019 draft and hoped to have picked up a bargain as his stock had dropped due to durability concerns. He looked promising in preseason and then held his own when called into emergency action due to the C.J. Mosley injury, racking up 33 tackles in his five starts. However, those durability issues proved well-founded as he has struggled to stay on the field.
Cashman initially looked like a solid contributor on special teams and as a rotational linebacker, with the potential to develop into a starting role. However, as he enters the third year of his rookie deal, Cashman will face a battle to earn a role on defense with all the additions the Jets made in the offseason. They signed Jarrad Davis to a one-year deal, drafted two linebackers and brought in two more as undrafted free agents. In addition, Mosley is making his return.
What will break it?
Cashman must stay healthy this season if he wants to earn a role. If he gets hurt again, someone else – perhaps one of the rookies – is going to step up and he might struggle to climb back up the depth chart unless someone ahead of him also gets hurt.
In college, Cashman had three shoulder surgeries, but the injuries that landed him on injured reserve three times in his first two years at the pro level were a couple of groin injuries and a hamstring injury. In all, he missed 21 games in his first two seasons and was limited to just three defensive snaps in 2020.
Unfortunately, he already missed some time during organized team activities so hasn’t really made an ideal start to the summer. The way things are going he might struggle to earn a spot on the 53-man roster, let alone a regular defensive role. However, head coach Robert Saleh has indicated everyone is expected to be healthy in time for camp.
What will make it?
If Cashman can stay on the field, he brings a lot of things to the table that could make him a useful addition to Saleh’s defense, although he lacks the length they usually covet. He’s a good athlete with range in pursuit and coverage abilities and also has the potential to be a core special teams contributor.
In Saleh’s system, you can expect two linebackers to be on the field most of the time and the expectation is that Mosley and Davis will each be employed in a full-time role. The rest of the linebackers will therefore have to duke it out for whatever reps remain and to be the next guy up if Mosley or Davis gets hurt. Whenever the Jets line up in a base personnel package, it would make sense for Davis to move to the strongside and for Cashman or one of the rookies to line up as the Will linebacker alongside Mosley, but that will only be a part-time role.
Davis is only on a one-year deal and Mosley’s contractual status means that the Jets could potentially move on from him too if he finds himself unable to rediscover his previous Pro Bowl form. Therefore, even if Cashman isn’t a starter in 2021, he could still establish himself as a potential option to start in 2022 if he contributes over the course of the season. Of course, the rookies, especially the draft picks Jamien Sherwood and Hamsah Nasirildeen, will be seeking to do the same thing too.
Cashman’s best bet in terms of establishing a defensive role for himself is probably to excel in coverage and earn reps as a coverage linebacker on passing downs. That could lead to a full-time role eventually if he performs consistently enough.