Jets Add WR Jalen Walthall, Use Injury Waiver on Quentin Skinner

The New York Jets signed wide receiver Jalen Walthall and, in a corresponding move, waived/injured wide receiver Quentin Skinner, the team announced Monday. The transactions underscore how teams keep working the margins during the offseason, when depth at receiver can quickly become a numbers game and roster spots often get shuffled to accommodate new evaluation options.

Walthall’s path to the Jets starts in Hawaii before a transfer to the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. With Incarnate Word over the past two seasons, he produced 155 receptions for 2,137 yards (13.8 yards per catch) and 22 touchdowns. He also topped 100 receiving yards nine times, and his best output came against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley when he recorded 220 yards and two touchdown receptions.

Skinner, listed at 6-5 and 195 pounds, initially joined New York as an undrafted free agent last spring. The Jets then signed him to the practice squad in August, and he appeared in one game for the Green and White during the 2025 season, recording a two-point conversion against the Buffalo Bills in Week 18. His college career includes Kansas, where he totaled 1,585 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 19.8 yards per catch.

In his final season at Kansas, Skinner caught 24 passes for 557 yards, posting a career-high 22.2 yards per reception, and added three touchdowns. By the time he reached the NFL, his profile had been shaped by big-play production at the college level and his size, both of which are traits NFL teams often look for when developing the lower tiers of a receiver room.

The Jets’ use of a waiver/injury designation on Skinner is a reminder of how roster management works when a team believes a player’s status may complicate a straightforward cut. In general terms, a waived/injured player is exposed to the waiver process, and the injury designation can affect what happens if the player clears waivers and how the club plans around the next steps for that body of work.

For Walthall, the signing gives him a chance to earn his place in a receiver group that is built on competition as much as talent. The next test will be how he adapts to the speed of the NFL route-and-timing game during the Jets’ offseason practices, and whether his production from the college level translates into consistent separation and reliable hands at the pro level.