Joe Douglas and the Jets did some tinkering with the team’s roster today in adding former San Francisco 49ers running back Austin Walter while parting ways once again with the often signed-and-released running back Pete Guerriero.
It could be Walter’s familiarity with what the Jets will look to do on offense that made him an appealing depth option to compete in training camp. Walter was a member of the 49ers in 2020 but saw very limited reps, carrying the ball just once in four games.
Walter did see some work as a return man, returning 5 kicks for 93 yards (18.6 YPR) and showed a great deal of versatility in college at Rice where he ran the ball 345 times for 1,744 yards (5.1 YPC) and 13 touchdowns while hauling in 79 balls for 803 yards and 5 TD’s through the air.
Walter is a long shot to make the team’s 53-man roster as the depth chart at running back got a bit more crowded with the team took Michael Carter in last month’s draft. In all, the Jets now have 6 backs on their roster in Walter, Carter, Josh Adams, Ty Johnson, LaMical Perine and Tevin Coleman.