Xavier Gipson‘s mistake against the Steelers was a costly one. And now he is no longer employed by the Jets.
Xavier Gipson was released by Gang Green on Wednesday morning, a source confirmed to the Daily News.
After Pittsburgh trimmed the Jets’ lead to 26-24 early in the fourth quarter, Kenneth Gainwell forced a fumble by Gipson on the kickoff. It was Gang Green’s only turnover of the game. Two plays later, Aaron Rodgers threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III to put the Steelers up 31-26 with 14:07 remaining.
The Steelers eventually won the game 34-32 on a 60-yard field goal by Chris Boswell. However, Gipson’s fumble swung the momentum in Pittsburgh’s direction and led to two touchdowns in a span of 50 seconds for the Steelers.
During his postgame press conference, new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn hinted that a change at the position could be coming.
“The one thing to me that turned this game is, man, we can’t have turnovers,” Glenn said. “We can’t do it. We have to be a more disciplined team.
“There were some penalties that happened in that game that were true discipline issues and, again, that’s something that will be addressed because you will not be on the field with this team if you’re going to cause us to lose games, if you’re going to cause issues like that. We will get that addressed and we’ve got to continue to work.”
Gipson joined the Jets as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. He immediately made an impact in his first career game when he registered a 65-yard touchdown to defeat the Bills in Week 1 of that season.
In three years with the Jets, Gipson had 27 receptions for 268 yards and one touchdown. During training camp, Gipson competed with Jamaal Pritchett for the returner and receiver roster spot. Pritchett is on the Jets’ practice squad and could be elevated after Gipson’s departure.
Kene Nwangwu, who is also a returner, suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter against the Steelers and did not return.
