The first iteration of the New York Jets' 53-man roster is in the books and there is plenty to talk about. From a collection of surprising cuts to the retaining of some of the more bottom-of-the-barrel players, Gang Green has plenty of people talking about their roster heading into Week 1. A reminder, though, while the Jets can celebrate their 53-man roster now, this won't be the same group by this time next week. With waiver wire kicking off today, organizations can fill their rosters with other standout performers who were cut by other teams around the league. With the second-highest waiver claim, don't be surprised if the Jets are active on the wire. That said, there were five big surprises with New York's announcement. Let's get to all of them now. Jordan Meredith tradeNew York gave up a 2027 sixth-round pick to solve a major hole along the interior of the line. Meredith was the 32nd ranked center in the league last season but has 20 starts over his career. After a concerning camp from Xavier Newman in which several of his snaps were high, the Jets needed to address the center position behind Josh Myers. Meredith had the eighth best mark in pass block win rate for centers and even has guard flexibility. It's a good deal for the Jets to bolster the line, even if Meredith came from a Raiders roster that struggled last year. Nate Lynn's releaseHad Lynn signed with the Jets earlier in August, and produced at the same clip he has over the last several weeks, perhaps the former UDFA would have made the 53-man roster outright. Instead, the edge rusher who recorded three sacks in two preseason appearances is going to hit the waiver wire. New York would most assuredly love to have Lynn come back on the practice squad. However, with Ossai's preseason injury not expected to be serious, it all comes down to a numbers game. And the numbers were not in Lynn's favor. Jason Sanders remainsAfter a disaster of a final two weeks in a kicking battle, it was something of a surprise for the Jets to retain Sanders. While it is fair to point out the team could still work other kickers out while he is on the roster, it feels like malpractice for the team to prepare themselves for the start of the year with a kicker who missed a PAT and came up woefully short on a field goal over 50 yards out during their final preseason game. Sanders will need to do much more to save his job over the next two weeks even after this announcement. Different rookies start on IR/Return listIf you asked most Jets fans which of the rookies would start the year on the IR list with a designation to return, most would fear Kenyon Sadiq and D'Angelo Ponds being on that list. They have, after all, missed most of camp with their injuries. Instead, the Jets will have sixth-round guard Anez Cooper, and seventh-round safety VJ Payne designated for those two roster spots. This is a good sign both Ponds and Sadiq will be ready to play Week 1 in a limited capacity as they are brought up to speed with the playbook. On the other side, Cooper and Payne get time to recover from their injuries, and set themselves up to learn from the sidelines instead of being forced onto the field due to injuries to other players. Braiden McGregor and Kohl LevaoNo one, and I mean NO ONE, could have predicted McGregor would make the team over a player like Lynn, especially after the final two weeks of camp. But remember, things change drastically over the course of this waiver wire pickup. The Jets may well have expected Lynn to pass through waivers easily, and can still release McGregor with the goal of using that roster spot on another area of need. On the other side, Levao did have a good camp, but with the trade for Jordan Meredith, there's a chance he could be used as the ninth offensive linemen that ends up being a healthy scratch every week this year. At the very least, he earned the job compared to the likes of Xavier Newman. Get Jets On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow