09/01 — For football fans, this is the most wonderful time of the year. For players who become final cuts and for the coaches who have to do the cutting, this time is less than wonderful.

"I'll tell you, they're all difficult," Jets head coach Eric Mangini, who had to move 22 players to get his roster to 53 players, said on a just completed conference call. "It's never easy to tell someone he's not going to be on the roster. You hate to do it. You always want what's best for these players because you see how hard they've worked at this, how determined they've been. It's not like you're cutting guys who haven't really poured their heart and soul into this process. So it's tough."

The Jets final cuts aren't being released at newyorkjets.com until 10 p.m. Check back with us then for the official announcement of who's staying and who's not as we head toward Sept. 9 and Opening Day against the Patriots.

The coach did speak on some other topics that will affect the Jets for that opener and beyond, although he continues to keep his cards close to his vest. On his left guard situation, he said:

"We're working with multiple people at the different interior spots. Adrien [Clarke] is working there, Jacob [Bender]'s there, Wade [Smith]'s there. We'll make a decision late in the week very similar to the cornerback discussion."

Mangini said at least at this moment, trade talk is not hot.

"No, really at this point, all the cuts are coming through, so a lot of teams will look at that and see who they can claim," he said. "Then after the claim, they see who they've got, then after they evaluate that, that's when you realize you need to fill something here, something there. This is the next phase before, really, trade discussions. That's usually what happens."

And regarding RB Thomas Jones' possible return to practice Monday, the coach went into injury mode.

"We'll see with Thomas and with all those guys in that grouping — [Andre] Dyson, Justin Miller, Eric Smith. We'll see where they are," he said. "I know the approach they're taking and the approach we're taking. We'll evaluate it as the day comes closer."

Final Cuts: Kimo, Hamilton Go; Tui, DeVito, TEs Stay