Robert Saleh
Ken Blaze | USA TODAY Sports

The Jets are going through organized team activities (OTAs) and working toward mandatory minicamp as the offseason continues.

The team currently employs 90 players — standard roster protocol with the regular season still months away. But in the coming months, the Jets’ brass will need to make crucial decisions regarding the Week 1 roster. With 53 spots (plus two permitted practice squad elevations), many of the team’s current players won’t be suiting up for the season-opener.

Let’s predict the team’s initial 53-man roster for that Monday Night Football matchup against Buffalo:

Quarterback

Running back

  • Breece Hall
  • Zonovan Knight
  • Israel Abanikanda
  • FB Nick Bawden

Wide receiver

  • Garrett Wilson
  • Allen Lazard
  • Mecole Hardman
  • Randall Cobb
  • Corey Davis
  • Denzel Mims

Tight end

  • Tyler Conklin
  • C.J. Uzomah
  • Jeremy Ruckert
  • Zack Kuntz

Offensive tackle

  • Duane Brown
  • Mekhi Becton
  • Max Mitchell
  • Carter Warren

Guard/center

  • G Laken Tomlinson
  • G Alijah Vera-Tucker
  • C Joe Tippmann
  • C Connor McGovern
  • G Wes Schweitzer

Defensive tackle

Defensive end

  • Carl Lawson
  • John Franklin-Myers
  • Will McDonald
  • Jermaine Johnson
  • Bryce Huff
  • Micheal Clemons

Linebacker

  • C.J. Mosley
  • Quincy Williams
  • Zaire Barnes
  • Chazz Surratt
  • Jamien Sherwood

Safety

  • Jordan Whitehead
  • Chuck Clark
  • Will Parks
  • Trey Dean

Cornerback

  • Sauce Gardner
  • D.J. Reed
  • Bryce Hall
  • Brandin Echols
  • Michael Carter II
  • Justin Hardee

Specialists

  • K Greg Zuerlein
  • P Thomas Morstead
  • LS Thomas Hennessy

Thoughts:

Michael Carter exits. We predict the Jets keep three primary running backs plus one fullback in Bawden. Hall is the top man of the group, Knight had a promising 2022 rookie campaign, and the Jets just drafted Abanikanda in the fifth round.

This should push Michael Carter out, especially after a disappointing season. The 2021 fourth-rounder saw his role and production diminish during his sophomore campaign. He rushed for 3.5 yards per carry on 7.1 attempts per game after averaging 4.3 yards on 10.5 attempts as a rookie.

Jets cut Turner. Although the Jets signed offensive tackle Billy Turner, a teammate of Rodgers’ in Green Bay, we project they go with the younger reserve options.

If Becton gets through the preseason healthy and shows he’s capable of starting, he and Brown will make the team as the top guys. The Jets are definitely keeping Warren after just drafting him in the fourth round and it’s safe to say Mitchell will make the team as a promising reserve. Either is younger and fresher than Turner, who will turn 32 in October.

Stacked edge group. Keeping six defensive ends sounds very Joe Douglas- and Robert Saleh-like, and this is a solid unit. Lawson and Franklin-Myers are locks to make the roster, and Johnson and McDonald are recent first-round picks.

Meanwhile, Huff and Clemons are reliable depth pieces who know the system.

Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.