Jets cut IK Enemkpali, linebacker who punched Geno Smith
It's not often that an NFL team's news release has as much subtext as this:
We have signed CB Javier Arenas and released LB Ikemefuna Enemkpali.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 11, 2015
What the New York Jets didn't announce publicly is that linebacker Ikemefuna Enemkpali, a sixth-round pick in 2014, was given his walking papers because he punched the team's starting quarterback in the face, breaking his jaw in two places.
As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk notes, the Jets knew Enemkpali was a character risk when they drafted him. He was arrested for battery on a police officer while at Louisiana Tech and later sentenced to probation.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles suggested cutting Enemkpali was a simple decision.
"It's something we don't tolerate, something we can’t stand," Bowles told reporters. "You don't walk up to another man and punch him in the face."
We may never learn what transpired in the Jets' locker room both before and after the punch, but if players didn't swarm to the defense of their quarterback, it's probably not a good sign.