Could Jets Cut Abanikanda?

The New York Jets backfield belongs to one man: running back Breece Hall.

The rest of the room is attempting to assert themselves as complementary backs behind the superstar. Rookie running backs Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis are powerful runners with the potential to take away goal-line touches and pass-protection reps.

Second-year back Israel Abanikanda, meanwhile, has a skill set mirroring Hall’s in several ways. That redundancy might end his tenure in New York.

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After the offseason’s additions, Abanikanda was named a surprise cut candidate by A to Z Sports.

“Izzy is plummeting down the depth chart,” Mike Antoniou wrote. “In OTAs, he got zero reps with the first team or with the second team. When he did get on the field, struggled. Izzy had nagging injuries last season and the Jets offense didn’t stay on the field long enough to get him many reps during the season. When he finally did get on the field after the Jets traded Cook and made a shift to playing the young guys, he failed to impress.

“Izzy is the kind of back that could go 90 yards on a single play. The problem is, he never did.”

With the momentum both Day 3 rookies have gained through spring practices, Abanikanda must make himself enough of a case to be the fourth running back on the roster – and for that spot to be worth rostering.

Perhaps that comes on special teams, now that the league’s new kickoff rules incentive returns and changes up the blocking schemes on them. His athleticism is good enough to see snaps. But if that isn’t coming behind Hall – who, now healthy, needs less relief – special teams may be the only justified reason to make the roster.

The most likely option may be demoting Abanikanda to the practice squad, where he could get the call in the event of an injury above him and presumably improve upon the lack of refinement in his fundamentals.

Regardless, this offseason hasn’t done much good to Abanikanda’s long-term prospects, and with the Jets increasingly likely to allocate roster spots away from the running back room, his work is cut out for him in training camp.