Saturday, June 16, 2007 McCareins impresses Veteran wide receiver Justin McCareins lost his starting job in 2006 and seemed on his way to being a salary-cap casualty, especially considering his 2007 price tag ($2.9 million) and the Jets' drafting of Clemson wideout Chansi Stuckey in the seventh round. But McCareins has been consistently impressive throughout voluntary practices and the mandatory minicamp. "I'm here and it seems like I'm getting some good reps," said McCareins, who has gotten lots of work as the third wide receiver on the first unit. "I'm a part of the offense. I'm doing the best that I can and putting my full effort into the practices and meetings. I feel like I'm part of the group." Because the Jets have cap room, it seems prudent to keep him around, although they could try to shop McCareins in the preseason. But he's not concerning himself with that right now. "A lot of things are out of my control," he said. "All I can do is continue to work hard and continue to let it be known to the people in power that I deserve to be on the field and I can contribute." Briefs Disgruntled LG Pete Kendall shared time on the first team with third-year player Adrien Clarke for the second straight day. He said there was no progress in his contract stalemate. ... C Nick Mangold has returned to practice on a full-time basis after being severely limited during voluntary workouts because of an undisclosed injury, possibly a back problem. ... SS Kerry Rhodes missed the first two days of minicamp. Coach Eric Mangini said he was excused for "personal reasons." ... Rookie free-agent FB Jesse Allen was waived. ... The Jets invited several soldiers from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to watch practice and some even got a chance to participate in a few drills. -- J.P. Pelzman http://www.northjersey.com/page.php...lRUV5eTcxNTIxMjMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2
