The Jets have signed TE Anthony Firkser to the active roster and elevated S Jalen Mills and CB Kendall Sheffield from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday's game against the Steelers. The team also signed TE Brendan Bates to the practice squad.
Firkser (6-2, 246) joined the Jets for training camp and was elevated for Week 1 against the 49ers and Week 6 against the Bills. He's taken 7 snaps on offense and 22 on special teams. He first signed with the Green & White as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard in 2017, but his first professional game action came with the Titans in 2018 where he played through the '21 season. Over his five-year career, Firkser has played in 71 games (4 starts) and totaled 115 receptions for 1,207 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Mills (6-0, 200) signed with the Jets P-squad Sep. 24 and was elevated for last week's game against the Bills and took 18 snaps (9 on defense, 9 on special teams). He spent the last three seasons with the Patriots and started in 34 of the 43 games he appeared in. A seventh-round pick out of LSU in 2016, Mills played the first five seasons of his career with the Eagles where he overlapped with Jets GM Joe Douglas. With Philadelphia, Mills started in 49 of the 63 games he played in, and totaled 5 interceptions, 40 pass defenses, 1 forced fumble and 283 tackles.
Sheffield (5-10, 212), a fourth-round pick of the Falcons (No. 111 overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft, spent training camp with the Jets before he was cut and signed to the practice squad. He appeared in 38 games (20 starts) for the Falcons from 2019-21 and registered 101 tackles, 6 PDs and 2 FF. Sheffield had short stints on the 49ers and Titans practice squads last season. The former Ohio State Buckeye overlapped with Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich with the Falcons in Sheffield's first two pro seasons.
Bates (6-4, 246) was claimed by the Jets off waivers following training camp before being released on Thursday. He signed with the Bears in April as an undrafted free agent out of Kentucky and appeared in five games for the Green & White this season. He took 26 snaps on offense and 29 on special teams.
