One day after being cut by the New York Jets, wide receiver/return specialist Xavier Gipson can play in the same home stadium as he was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants on Thursday.
In a corresponding move, the Giants placed linebacker Micah McFadden on injured reserve after he hurt his right foot in the first quarter of the season-opening 21-6 loss at Washington.
Gipson fumbled a kickoff return on Sunday that helped the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Jets 34-32 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
With the Jets up 26-24 after a Pittsburgh touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter, Gipson coughed up the ball on the ensuing kickoff, recovered by the Steelers at the Jets’ 22-yard line. Two plays and 50 seconds later, Aaron Rodgers connected with Calvin Austin III on an 18-yard pass for a touchdown that gave the Steelers a 31-26 advantage with 14:07 left.
On Wednesday, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn dismissed the notion that Gipson was cut solely for his fumble on Sunday.
“We’re trying to get the best players on this team that can play a role, and at this point, I just felt like we need to have a change at that spot,” Glenn said. “And it wasn’t just one thing when it comes to accountability. There’s accountability in everything that we do, so I don’t want to just pin it on him fumbling the ball. There were a number of things that led up to this. I just felt like it was time to make a change, and (general manager) Darren Mougey and I had conversations about it and we made the change.”
After the game on Sunday, Glenn said such mistakes wouldn’t be tolerated.
“The one thing to me that turned this game is man, we can’t have turnovers, we can’t do it,” Glenn said postgame. “We have to be a more disciplined team. There was some penalties that happened in that game that was true discipline issues, and again, that’s something that will be addressed because you will not be on the field with this team if you’re gonna cause us to lose games.”
Gipson, 24, averaged 9.5 yards on two punt returns and 28.4 yards on five kick returns as well as the fumble on Sunday.
The Giants might need depth as starting wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who is listed as second on the depth chart behind Gunner Olszewski for punt and kickoff returns, did not practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday because of an ankle issue.
Starting wide receiver Darius Slayton (groin) was a limited participant on Thursday, while star Malik Nabers, who was limited on Wednesday because of a back issue, was a full participant on Thursday.
The Jets signed Gipson, a wide receiver, as an unrestricted free agent before the 2023 season. Primarily a special teams contributor, Gipson appeared in 35 games and made 27 catches for 268 yards and one touchdown. He added one rushing touchdown.
Gipson also returned 68 punts with an average of 8.9 yards per return and a touchdown. As a kick returner, he averaged 26 yards on 44 chances.
McFadden, 25, had three tackles and one QB hit in his limited action on Sunday. He started all 14 games he played last season and led the team with 107 tackles. He also had three sacks, eight tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
In his first three seasons, McFadden played 47 games (35 starts) and totaled 267 tackles, six sacks, 26 tackles for loss, 14 QB hits, one interception, two forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
–Field Level Media
