Jets Won't Keep Jeff Otah After Failed Physical

Panthers Release Jeff Otah

The Carolina Panthers did not wait long to reveal the fate of offensive tackle Jeff Otah. After the team had a deal in place to trade Otah to the New York Jets, Otah failed his physical, which led to the Jets pulling out of the trade. Now it appears as though Otah will be playing for neither team in 2012.

The Associated Press reports that the Panthers have terminated Otah's contract and are releasing him outright. Otah has been plagued by knee problems over the past few seasons and has missed 31 of his last 35 NFL games.

The Panthers initially drafted Otah in the 2008 NFL Draft and he had been with the team ever since, playing well in his first two seasons before the injuries set it. It is possible that another team will take a chance on him before the season begins, but at this point, that seems unlikely.

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Jeff Otah 'Unlikely' To Stay With Panthers

The Carolina Panthers and New York Jets had a trade in place for Jeff Otah, but the tackle failed his first physical with New York on July 25 and the Jets pulled out of the deal as a result. Now Otah's future in football may be in doubt.

Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer reports that it is unlikely that the Panthers will keep Otah around, especially after planning to trade him and handing the starting right tackle job to Byron Bell. Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said other teams were in the mix for Otah prior to the Jets deal.

Panthers head coach Ron Rivera had this to say:

"It's the way it is. We tried to make a deal. Unfortunately, they didn't want it," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "So now we're back with Jeff. We'll see him tomorrow. Marty and I will sit down and we'll visit and we'll go from there."

Otah has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons and has missed 31 of his last 35 games.

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Jeff Otah Trade Is Dead; Jets Won't Keep Him

Last week the New York Jets swung a trade with the Carolina Panthers for offensive tackle Jeff Otah. The move was made with the idea that Otah, if healthy, could replace Wayne Hunter at right tackle. A much, much needed upgrade.

The problem is that Otah can't stay healthy. He failed his initial physical with the Jets last week and on Tuesday Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News reports the Jets will not be keeping Otah. This trade, like most trades, was contingent on the player passing a physical by a certain date and it would appear Otah wasn't able to do that.

Assuming the trade never goes through, the Jets are going to be stuck with Hunter, who his one of the worst offensive tackles in the NFL. Tough situation for the Jets to go from replacing Hunter to now saying, "Wait a minute! You're our starter again!" I'll be curious if they make another move to upgrade that spot.

So for now Otah heads back to Carolina and don't be shocked if the Panthers just go ahead and release him.

Otah was solid starting 25 of a possible 32 games to start his career. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed him since then as he started just four games in the last two seasons.

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Jeff Otah Fails Jets Physical, Could Invalidate Panthers' Trade

After starting 25 of his first 32 career NFL games after the Carolina Panthers selected him in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft, Jeff Otah has played sparingly over the past two seasons. Given the offensive tackle's inability to stay on the field in Carolina, the Monday trade that moved Otah on to the New York Jets in exchange for a draft pick looked like a good deal for both player and former team.

But Otah failed his first physical with the Jets, and Pro Football Talk's Darin Gantt says that the Panthers may end up with Otah again if he can't pass another one in a week:

But a league source told PFT the trade was contingent on Otah passing his physical with the Jets in the next seven days, or else he goes back to Carolina.

Otah has missed time in all four of his seasons in the NFL, has played just four games since 2009, missed the entire 2010 season with a lingering knee injury and has missed 32 of 64 regular-season contests as a Panther overall. The Panthers are unlikely to keep him if this trade ends up falling through.

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Carolina Panthers Trade Jeff Otah To New York Jets