Xavier Gipson was standing in the MetLife Stadium tunnel before Sunday’s Jets game against the Seahawks having a word with Kene Nwangwu, who’d just been elevated off the practice squad to the gameday roster.
“We said on the way out of the tunnel, ‘If not you, then who? If not then, then when?’ ” Gipson, the Jets punt returner, said. “He never complains, is always in good spirits and always prepares like this is his moment.”
Nwangwu, a fourth-year running back and kick returner signed to the Jets practice squad in September, looked ready for his moment, all right.
He was one of the few bright spots for the Jets in their dispiriting 26-21 loss to Seattle by virtue of his 99-yard kick return for a touchdown to give the Jets a 21-7 lead in the first quarter.
Earlier in the first half, Nwangwu stripped Seattle kick returner Dee Williams of the ball, recovered by Brandin Echols. The turnover led directly to the Jets’ second touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
“What an amazing story,” Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said of Nwangwu. “Kene was a guy for weeks now who we have been spotlighting and showing the team — just his process and how hard he’s worked. He earned the right to play today and all that hard work came to fruition.
“[The kick return] was a really amazing moment, not just for him but for the team because the team is really invested in that human being.”
Nwangwu has had some success in the NFL, having returned four kickoffs for touchdowns and once earning an All-Pro nomination.
He was drafted in the fourth round out of Iowa State in 2021 and spent three years of his NFL career with the Vikings. In 2021, he led the league with two kickoff return touchdowns and added another in 2022.
He’s spent the season working as a scout-team player in practices, giving the defense looks. And Sunday was his first game-day moment as a Jet.
“I knew on Saturday walkthrough that I was going to be up,” Nwangwu said. “It’s like riding a bike, making sure I’m prepared if I was going to be up, taking notes, being intentional in practice, taking keys from coaches and all that type of stuff. It was good to see that it translates to game days.”
For a player who’s played in the league to sit that long on the practice squad showed great patience on the part of Nwangwu.
“The difficulty comes from knowing that you made plays in this league before,” he said. “Yeah, I want to be out there making plays for my teammates, but at the end of the day I know my role right now. When I came to this team, my role is to serve the best look for the defense and make sure if I’m ever called upon, I know what I’m doing.”
He called the “best part” of the kick return “celebrating with your teammates,’’ adding, “You can’t do this game alone. We all made a big play there. It wasn’t just me.”
The shame is that such a cool story was buried in yet another Jets loss.