The New York Jets have acted on their displeasure with punter T.J. Conley, waiving the fourth-year player from Idaho just five days before their season starts. Newsday's Kimberley Martin reports they've signed Robert Malone, who was recently waived by San Diego.
Conley seemed to have won the job after the Jets cut two other punters, Travis Baltz and Spencer Lanning, but Conley performed poorly in the team's second exhibition game with 19- and 23-yard punts. His preseason net average was 37.9 yards, 30th in the league. Special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff said the specialist was "probably competing against somebody that's wearing a different color shirt," indicating that even if he won the Jets' job out of training camp, they were looking for other options from around the league as cutdowns happened. Conley had been with the Jets in training camp in 2009 and 2010 before finally making the team in 2011, when he averaged 38.8 yards per boot.
Malone is a third-year player now with his fifth team. He was the Buccaneers' primary punter in 2010 and played one game as a quick fix for the Detroit Lions last season. His career net average is 35.5 yards per punt.
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