The Jets signed WR Junior Bergen and waived-injured DT Sheffield, a roster move that gives New York a receiver with rare return production and clears a spot on the depth chart for now. Bergen was a seventh-round pick, No. 252 overall, of the San Francisco 49ers in 2025.
That is why his name is drawing attention now. Bergen is not arriving as a mystery pickup. At Montana, he played four seasons from 2021 to 2024 and tied for the most punt return touchdowns in FCS history with eight, while setting the school record for average yards per punt return at 16.71. He also posted 145 receptions for 1,777 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns, along with 139 rush attempts for 577 yards and four rushing touchdowns.
The move also explains the search traffic around his next step. A player signed to a reserve/futures contract in January can still be moved again before the season begins, and Bergen spent time on San Francisco's practice squad last season before that deal. What the transaction does not settle is whether he is headed for the active roster, a reserve role or another stop entirely; the signing only tells us he is now with the Jets, and nothing in the move guarantees a September job.
Sheffield's departure is part of the same calculation. He was one of 12 undrafted free agents to sign with the Jets in May and appeared in 12 games in his lone season at Rutgers, where he had 44 receptions for 557 yards and five touchdowns. His college return work was split across Rutgers and North Texas, with most of it coming during his single season at North Texas in 2024. For Bergen, the immediate question is no longer what he did in FCS. It is whether the Jets keep him through the next roster round or move him again before the summer settles.
