Former Michigan running back Donovan Edwards led the Jets in rushing during the preseason, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot on the team’s 53-man roster to begin the season.
The undrafted rookie was waived by New York on Tuesday, which was cut day across the NFL.
Edwards had a strong showing at the NFL combine and ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash, but it didn’t result in him hearing his name called at the draft. The Jets gave him a heavy workload during the preseason with a team-high 26 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown. The former top-50 recruit out of West Bloomfield High also had a long touchdown run called back because of penalty in the team’s preseason opener against the Packers.
Edwards also displayed his pass-catching ability with four receptions for 39 yards, but he was not one of the four running backs to make the team.
From the moment he arrived at Michigan, Edwards oozed confidence. He had a breakout sophomore year in 2022 with 991 rushing yards while averaging 7.1 yards per carry, but his production dipped his final two seasons.
Nevertheless, Edwards is responsible for some of Michigan’s biggest moments during its three-year run as Big Ten champions from 2021-23. In 2022, he rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns at Ohio State and was named the MVP of the conference title game against Purdue, totaling 185 yards and a score on the ground.
In the 2023 national championship victory against Washington, Edwards had two touchdown runs of over 40 yards. But his career also was defined by inconsistency. He averaged under 5 yards per carry in 2023 and 2024 and never seized the lead role in Michigan’s backfield.
“I feel like as though I lived up to the expectations in some way,” Edwards said at the NFL combine in February. “I did the things that I needed to do. Is my legacy going to be what I want it to be? Yes and no. I know I could have done more, but I have no regrets being there. Ultimately, for me, I don’t care. I’m grateful for every opportunity that I had. I’m grateful for all the fans that supported me. I’m grateful for the big plays that I made. I’m grateful for the great games that I had against top 10 opponents and teams. I did everything that I wanted to do.”
If Edwards goes unclaimed on waivers, he can join the Jets’ practice squad.
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