On the days leading up to Tuesday's league-wide roster cutdown deadline, DE Eric Watts' stomach was tied in knots.

The former UConn Husky had spent the last five weeks giving the Jets all he had on the football field, and now all he could do was wait to learn if it was enough to make the initial 53-man roster.

"It was just in the back of my mind every single moment of every day," Watts said. "Which is good because it sort of what forces you to do the small things and focus on the little details that make the biggest differences, but I was just so nervous over probably the last two days. I hadn't been eating the same. I was really just hoping things would work out."

Watts needn't have been worried. Tuesday morning, Watts, in a text group chat with fellow UDFA defensive lineman Leonard Taylor III and Braiden McGregor, received a text from HC Robert Saleh informing them they had made the initial roster.

"It was like a dream," Watts said. "You work for this moment throughout your whole career and there are a lot of doubts and people saying that you won't make it. Only top percent of people make it. But to finally get there, you know you are at the top of the world playing this beautiful game. Finding out was just a great feeling."

Watts spent five years with the Huskies, but played only four years of football after the 2020 season was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. A three-year starter, he led UConn in sacks (7) and tackles for loss (10) in 2022 and forced fumbles (2) in 2023.

In addition, over his last two seasons, Watts blocked two field-goal attempts and a punt. He finished his career with 9.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, 152 total tackles and accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

At the Senior Bowl, he gauged interest from teams and felt confident going into the at draft that he would hear his named called. The three-day event came and went, and Watts' phone didn't ring.

"It was really like a knife in the stomach," Watts said. "The draft was pretty bad."

Watts ended up signing with the Jets following the final round and made the most of his opportunity. He bonded with Taylor and McGregor in training camp, and impressed the coaching staff with his power and impressive get off.

Having played for UConn, he knew he had to prove he had could compete at the highest level. And over the team's three-game preseason slate, he recorded 4 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

"I was just honing in on my craft," Watts said. "Anything coach mentions to me, I have to make sure that is on the forefront and something I'm working on consistently. I have to make sure I'm improving on that. Because if he has got to keep repeating the same thing to me every day, at some point it's going to get old."

Now with cut day in the past, Watts is focused on the next goal: Staying on the 53-man roster.

"You made it, but what are you going to do to stay there?" Watts said. "Because that is your next challenge. The first challenge was making the 53, now your next challenge is what you're going to do to stay here and continue to be here. I'm willing to do what it takes."