The New York Jets cut third-year wide receiver Stephen Hill on Saturday as part of their process to meet the league-mandated 53-man roster limit.
It wasn’t necessarily a surprising move in the grand scheme of things. Hill, who was a highly-regarded prospect heading into the 2012 NFL draft, fell to the Jets in the second round that April. For a team that had struggled a great deal at wide receiver, the Jets made the right decision to select the ultra-talented receiver.
Unfortunatley, it didn’t work out for either side.
Hill recorded just 45 receptions for 594 yards and four touchdowns in two seasons. He struggled with drops, injuries and route running during his short tenure in New York. And the ultimate end result was John Idzik and Co. parting ways with the youngster.
Hill’s agent Alan Herman didn’t seem too happy with the release on Saturday (via USA Today).
Two years in that kind of situation is disheartening. He didn’t have a chance that first year with that whole Tim Tebow-Mark Sanchez fiasco. … His second year, Geno Smith was learning how to play quarterback. So they never threw the ball deep because they wanted to simplify things for Geno.
To be fair to Hill, his agent has a point here. The Jets quarterback situation was a hot mess in his two seasons with the team. But it’s also important to note that the Georgia Tech product did very little to improve his game coming from a college situation that saw him run limited routes under Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson.
Herman went on to indicate that he thought the Browns would put a waiver claim on Hill, who has a history with head coach Mike Pettine.
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