THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Kevin O’Connell is out, and Kellen Clemens is safe.
The New York Jets waived O’Connell on Tuesday, clearing the way for Clemens to make the team as the No. 3 quarterback.
The Jets also claimed linebacker Ricky Foley, a former CFL star, off waivers from Seattle to put them at the 75-player roster limit.
The 29-year-old Foley, from Courtice, Ont., was named the CFL’s top Canadian last season following a stellar campaign with the B.C. Lions in which he finished tied for the league lead with 12 sacks.
Clemens signed a new deal Tuesday morning, restructuring his US$1.1 million tender and taking a pay cut while securing his spot on the roster. He said he was given permission to speak with other teams about a trade during the last week, but decided to stay with the Jets despite some opportunities elsewhere.
"I feel good with where I’m at," said Clemens, who declined to go into specifics about his new one-year contract.
Coach Rex Ryan said Monday that Clemens, entering his fifth season, had a "pretty strong chance" of making the opening day roster. He reiterated that Tuesday, saying Clemens had outperformed O’Connell this summer despite "Hard Knocks" showing an "X" next to Clemens’ name on a depth chart in last week’s episode.
"The only way Kellen Clemens was not going to be on this team was if somebody was going to give him a chance to be a starting quarterback," Ryan said. "I would’ve traded him, and I told Kellen that before."
Clemens said he might have still been cut if he hadn’t agreed to take a lesser salary.
"That’s the way the roster thing was," Ryan said. "That’s the truth. Well, that would be a way, obviously, that he would be cut if he doesn’t take it. Absolutely, because you can’t have all of your quarterbacks at X-amount of dollars."
O’Connell was acquired last September from Detroit in a trade and was competing with Clemens for the No. 3 job behind starter Mark Sanchez and backup Mark Brunell.
Ryan said the Jets decided to let go of O’Connell now rather than after the pre-season finale at Philadelphia on Thursday night because they’re already starting to prepare for the regular-season opener against Baltimore.
"So, the more things we put in, we don’t need that information going out," Ryan said. "It also gives him an opportunity because there are some teams looking for a quarterback."
O’Connell was a third-round draft pick by New England out of San Diego State in 2008. He was cut last off-season and claimed off waivers by Detroit.
The move Tuesday put the Jets at 74 players — one below the limit teams needed to reach by the end of the day.
