Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

New Jets TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins will 'sink or swim on his own'

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Be good or be gone.

Essentially, that is the mandate for Austin Seferian-Jenkins, whom the New York Jets acquired on waivers Monday -- three days after a DUI arrest got him fired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I don't have any reservations yet because I haven't met him," coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday after practice. "As I get to know him, obviously, with all the situations he's been in, he's going to sink or swim on his own. We brought in the player. He has a chance to clean his act up, and we'll see what happens."

Seferian-Jenkins didn't arrive Wednesday in time to participate in practice. He will make his practice debut on Thursday. The chances of him playing Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks are remote.

Jets officials vetted Seferian-Jenkins, who also had a DUI arrest in 2013 while playing for the University of Washington. The latest arrest came with an embarrassing video, shot by the dashboard camera in the police car. It included crude comments by Seferian-Jenkins about wanting to go to the bathroom.

Bowles said he hasn't seen the video.

"I've heard about it," he said.

Clearly, the Jets won't have much patience with their new tight end. Asked if it's a zero-tolerance situation, Bowles said, "Most of it is zero tolerance for a lot of people."

The Jets were successful last year when they took a flyer on linebacker Erin Henderson, who battled alcohol issues and was out of the league for a year. In a way, he could be a role model for Seferian-Jenkins.

"It's cool that I'm in that category, but that's not really where I want to be," Henderson said. "I've crossed that bridge already and I'm not trying to go back. If he needs somebody to talk to, of course I'll be here. But I'm really dealing with my own stuff right now."

Henderson believes in second chances.

"It's just a matter of what you do with it when you get it," he said. "It's up to him. That's something he has to take care of and understand he's going to be on a very short leash."

 

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