I like these pieces, too.
It really is a wild card to what Polite brings. I was digging this morning, his story is a bit of a mystery.
It doesn’t sound good how quickly he moved on (released) by Jets then Seahawks.
But quiet so far? Mystery.
The Rams signed edge rusher Jachai Polite to the practice squad.Polite, who played at Florida, was selected by the New York Jets in the third round of the draft in April. He did not make the roster…
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
Jets third-rounder Jachai Polite ready for ‘fresh start’ on Rams practice squad
The Rams signed edge rusher Jachai Polite to the practice squad.
Polite, who played at Florida, was selected by the New York Jets in the third round of the draft in April. He did not make the roster after reportedly accruing fines for tardiness and other issues. The Seattle Seahawks signed him to the practice squad but released him Wednesday.
“Fresh start for sure,” Polite said. “You got to try to change for the better.”
Said McVay: “He’s going to be held to the same standards and expectations as everybody else in this building. ... Everybody has got a standard to uphold and he will be in the same line in terms of those things.”
The Rams have a history with former Florida pass rushers with bumpy starts to their pro careers. Dominque Easley played well for the Rams before his career ended because of knee injuries, and Dante Fowler has flourished.
“I’m moving forward by taking every opportunity I have and giving it my all,” Polite said. “The Rams gave me another opportunity and I’m going to make the most of it.”
The Jets just drafted Jachai Polite with the No. 68 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Now, he's off the team's roster. What happened?
www.nj.com
Jets cut Jachai Polite | How did 3rd-round pick fall apart so quickly?
Scroll back about eight months. Check the mock drafts. You should find
Jachai Polite’s name somewhere in the first round.
Rewind about four months. Draft day. The
Jets select Polite, an edge rusher from the University of Florida
with the No. 68 pick, in the third round.
Now, Polite is out of work and heading for the waiver wire.
What happened?
The Jets cut Polite on Saturday, ahead of the
NFL’s 53-man roster deadline, a source confirmed to NJ Advance Media. The decision completed his rapid free fall from elite prospect to just another out-of-work rookie.
The slide began with
Polite’s calamitous offseason, which featured him showing up to the NFL Combine at a significantly higher weight than normal and flaming out during interviews with teams around the league – then going public with his grievances about those conversations.
That’s what allowed the Jets to get Polite, who was roundly considered a first-round talent, in the middle of Day Two. At the time, general manager Mike Maccagnan believed that Polite was capable of righting the ship in Florham Park.
But that hope never materialized. Instead, Polite failed to make any noticeable impact this preseason, aside from a few
scattered training camp practices. But even when those bright spots popped up, they came while Polite was working with – and against – third-team players.
He struggled to push his way forward on the depth chart and quite clearly struggled in adapting to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ scheme, too.
Head coach
Adam Gase has never thrown Polite under the bus. But it doesn’t take a psychic to read between the lines when he comments on the rookie and his progress.
“I think there’s been some good and there’s been sometimes where we get him running around the quarterback and that’s what we want to avoid doing,” Gase said Tuesday. "We just got to keep cleaning up his technique, I know those guys – we’re working hard at it, that whole room, of trying to play things exactly how Gregg wants it played.
“That’s why you see those guys that are kind of out there with that first group, they do what Gregg wants exactly the way he wants. That’s why (Jordan) Jenkins is so important, how (Brandon) Copeland does it, Harvey (Langi) and (Frankie) Luvu. Those guys do, and (Tarell) Basham, they do such a good job of trying to do exactly what the defense calls for.”
In other words: All those guys are doing it right. Polite wasn’t.
In hindsight, thought, Polite’s chances took a massive blow all the way back in June. That’s when the Jets fired Maccagnan and brought in new general manager
Joe Douglas.
Suddenly, Polite didn’t have a GM who was willing to protect him in an effort to save his draft pick, like Maccagnan might have. Instead, the man deciding his fate had no real connection to him, no need to be loyal.
That’s how Polite went from potential superstar to the waiver wire – all in a matter of months.
