When the 49ers cut receiver Jeremy Kerley on Saturday, he immediately grabbed his phone and sent a message to Jets coach Todd Bowles.
“I didn’t want to be nowhere else,” Kerley said. “This was the place I felt most comfortable with. As soon as I got released, I was on the phone myself, trying to hit up Todd and let him know I’m trying to come back over here. As soon it happened, I was on my phone, looking for every Jet contact I had. I was trying to hit up everybody.”
The Jets decided to bring back Kerley, signing him Tuesday to join a thin wide receiving corps. Kerley, a 2011 fifth-round pick by the Jets, was let go by the team after the 2015 season. Former offensive coordinator Chan Gailey never saw Kerley as a fit in his offense, and Kerley was marginalized in his final season with the team. He had 16 catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns that year.
“Chan had his things he wanted to go with,” Kerley said. “So it’s a better opportunity [now], I guess, because it’s a different person here. I’m just eager to get started and do what I do.”
Kerley caught 64 passes for 667 yards and three touchdowns last season for the 49ers. Kerley’s old No. 11 is gone to Robby Anderson now. He wore No. 14 on Wednesday, but said he plans on changing that by Sunday.
Everyone might expect the Jets offense to be terrible this year. Don’t tell that to Bills coach Sean McDermott, though.
“We know they’re a very good opponent,” McDermott told The Post on Wednesday. “We know that they have a good system. When you look at Josh McCown, veteran quarterback, there’s probably not much he hasn’t seen. I’ve gone up against Josh a couple of times in the NFC South of late. When you add that to their wide receiving corps and [Matt] Forte, that’s a good group right there. We’ll have our work cut out for us defensively.”
Rookie safety Jamal Adams said he is not worried about the Bills attacking him Sunday to test him out.
“Man, I definitely hope [they do]. Bring it on,” Adams said. That’s [fellow rookie safety Marcus Maye’s] and [my] mentality. We’re not afraid. We’ve got to go out there and try to make as many plays as possible. As long as we do right and we communicate, we’ll be fine.”
QB Bryce Petty (knee) practiced fully, but Bowles would not say whether Petty or Hackenberg will be the No. 2 quarterback Sunday. A team-issued depth chart listed Petty as the backup on Tuesday.
Rookie TE Jordan Leggett (knee) and S Rontez Miles (eye) did not practice. Bowles said Miles broke the orbital bone around his right eye in two places. He won’t play Sunday.
The Jets signed TE Neal Sterling on Wednesday. They waived WR Damore’ea Stringfellow to clear the roster spot.