Veteran Minicamp 4/16-4/18/09
Rex Ryan was asked about the five tryout players who were brought in for a look-see at last week's three-day voluntary veterans minicamp.
"I liked the guys we picked up," Rex said, "and I think all of them have a chance."
One of them definitely has a shot because the Jets announced the signing of offensive tackle Mike Kracalik this afternoon.
But that's no surprise. GM Mike Tannenbaum is familiar with his work, since the Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent from San Diego State in 2005 before making him a final cut that summer.
Then Ryan and DC Mike Pettine know of him from his past three seasons with the Ravens, for whom he played a total of four games. In fact, the Ravens cut him five times, four times from the active roster and once from the practice squad. But they re-signed him all but the last time, last September.
They obviously like his size (6'8", 337). And Kracalik (pronounced KRAH-cha-lik) clearly has persistence. Here's how much persistence — his 21 career transactions, from most recent to most distant, back when he first signed with the Green & White:
* Signed by Jets as FA 4/20/09.
* Waived by BAL 9/09/08.
* Signed by BAL as FA 1/5/08.
* Signed to BAL practice squad 10/24/07.
* Signed to BAL active roster 10/20/07.
* Signed to BAL practice squad 10/24/07.
* Waived by BAL 10/22/07.
* Signed by BAL to active roster 10/14/07.
* Signed by BAL to practice squad 9/04/07.
* Waived by BAL 9/02/07.
* Signed by BAL as exclusive FA 5/07/07.
* Signed to BAL active roster 12/30/06.
* Signed to BAL practice squad 11/21/06.
* Terminated from BAL practice squad 11/15/06.
* Signed to BAL practice squad 9/3/06.
* Waived by BAL 9/2/06.
* Allocated by BAL to Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) 1/13/06.
* Signed by BAL 1/9/06.
* Signed by BAL to practice squad 9/21/05.
* Waived by Jets 9/3/05.
* Signed by Jets as undrafted FA 5/1/05.
Welcome back, Mike. Stick around awhile.
Thundering Down the Home Stretch
We've entered into the final days of the Predraft Pace, that horserace that culminates with seven rounds of draft picks on Saturday and Sunday, including (at this moment) six new Jets rookies.
And our work at newyorkjets.com isn't done, either. Tuesday morning, Eric Allen and I will finish recording a show where we'll cut in clips from NFL.com draft guru Mike Mayock from his recent conference call. (We won't pretend we're talking to him live, honest.)
Also on "Jets Two-Minute Drive: Draft Edition" this week will be a studio interview (yes, this one's real) with Jets vice president of college scouting Joey Clinkscales. And later in the week we may have a Jets radio visit from an ESPN personality whose identity we can't divulge just yet (in case he can't make it).
On the printed-word side, Real Football Services will wrap up another stellar period of predraft analysis for us with its final first-round mock draft. And to illustrate Real's 32 picks, we'll introduce onto the site some clips we haven't shown you of each player, courtesy of NFL Network.
Plus the usual news stories, Radar entries and your comments on the Radar and on the messageboards. All between now and Saturday. Be there. Aloha.
Flight Crew Prep Classes
For all you Flight Crew wannabes who don't live so close to Florham Park, N.J., we have two more prep classes that you can attend before participating in the first and second rounds of Flight Crew auditions.
The Long Island class will be held Tuesday, April 28, from 7-9 p.m. at the David Mack Sports Complex at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.,
The New York City class is set for Thursday, April 30, from 7-9 p.m. at Chelsea Studios, 151 W. 26th St., New York.
These classes, addition to the class we announced for Lifetime Fitness at 14 Fernwood Road, Florham Park, set for Tuesday (tomorrow) from 7-9 p.m., are voluntary sessions designed to help applicants feel more comfortable at the auditions and will feature a Q&A session with Flight Crew director Denise Garvey. The fee is $25 per class.
See the application form for the New York/Long Island prep classes here. And for anyone still interested in the Florham Park class, there is still room and the Jets are accepting walk-in applications
