The roster connections have weakened since the New England Patriots and New York Jets met on Nov. 27.
As the last month has gone by, so have the tenures of two players who once saw the field from the opposite sideline.
Linebacker Trevor Reilly, a Jets seventh-round draft pick in 2014, left the Patriots’ practice squad to join the Miami Dolphins’ 53-man roster last week. And one week before that, wide receiver Jeremy Ross, an undrafted Patriots signing in 2011, was waived by the Jets.
That leaves only a familiar three leading up to this Saturday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium. And all three reside with New York.
Let’s revisit them.
NEW YORK
Anthony Johnson, defensive tackle – Johnson, who was signed off the Patriots’ practice squad on Nov. 9, has since appeared in five games for the Jets. The interior rusher has logged one tackle over the course of 32 defensive snaps and 35 special-teams snaps through that span. Prior to then, Johnson had played in four games – including the first start of his NFL career – for New England while registering eight tackles through 74 snaps on the line and 10 in the kicking game. The LSU product, who has also been a member of the Dolphins and Washington Redskins since entering the league as a rookie free agent in 2014, signed with New England in May and went on to have two tours of duty on both the 53-man roster and practice squad.
Darryl Roberts, cornerback – The 2015 Patriots seventh-round pick spent his rookie season on injured reserve with a wrist injury before being claimed off waivers by the Jets on Sept. 4. Roberts has since gone on to enter for 10 games, and start two, through his three-plus months with the Jets. The Marshall product has notched 19 tackles and five pass deflections over that sample size, while recording 249 snaps in the secondary and another 52 on special teams. He drew the start when the Patriots traveled to East Rutherford last month, but has not stepped in at cornerback over the Jets’ last two games.
Darrelle Revis, cornerback – For the first time since 2012, when his season ended after two games due to a torn ACL, the seven-time Pro Bowler was not selected as one earlier this week. Revis has started 13 games for New York this campaign, yet the 31-year-old has gone without an interception and has broken up just four passes. It has been a stark contrast compared to his 363-day stint with the Patriots in 2014, when the former Jets first-round pick started every game through the Super Bowl and finished with 16 pass breakups, three interceptions and a forced fumble while earning his fifth first-team All-Pro honor and first ring. It is still stark in comparison to his production in 2015, when he returned to the Jets on a five-year, $70 million contract with $39 million guaranteed and proceeded to pick off five passes, deflect nine and start 14 games. Revis conceded a pair of touchdown catches to rookie receiver Malcolm Mitchell during his last encounter with the Patriots.