NFL Free Agency is now underway. Players are signing new contracts at an incredibly fast rate, and it’s difficult to keep up with all the personnel changes. Fans of South Carolina football have been monitoring the news wires for any mentions of former Gamecocks in free agency, and late on Monday night, something caught their attention.
One of the last contracts signed during “the tampering period” involved a former Gamecock who accepted a new team’s offer.Defensive tackle Jayvon Kinlaw is headed to the New York Jets on a one-year contract, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. In theory, Kinlaw isn’t allowed to sign a contract until Wednesday after 4:00 PM EST, when the NFL season officially begins, but it appears that he will only have to sign on the dotted line when the time comes.
Kinlaw played for the San Francisco 49ers for the first four years of his NFL career, but his playing time was limited by injuries he suffered each season. However, the 2023–2024 season saw some of his best play, as he recorded 3.5 sacks over a three-game run in December and went on to play well against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
Shaq Wilson, a former standout football player from South Carolina, will coach Kinlaw for the Jets. Entering his second season with New York, Wilson serves as the assistant defensive line coach.
The big man was instrumental in Carolina’s 2019 upset of the Georgia Bulldogs, and his dominance at the collegiate level helped him to be selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Kinlaw was an All-American performer during his football career at South Carolina, where he dominated with a special blend of size and athleticism on the interior of the Gamecock defense.
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