Nov. 27, 1963 - Weeb Ewbank, coach of the New York Jets, had a warning today for any college football player who may come his way. The warning was: “Don’t expect a no-cut contract.” No-cut means the club cannot drop the player before the contract expires. The custom with a player who does not meet expectations is to put him on the taxi squad. The taxi squad consists of non-roster players who are used only in emergencies. Addressing the weekly luncheon of the AFL team at the Polo Grounds, Ewbank said: “I don’t believe in such contracts. They are harmful because they frequently sap the incentive of the players involved, and they often cause resentment by the other players who are working under a normal one-year contract.” Ewbank mentioned the case of one league player with a no-cut contract. “He didn’t even bother to attend the team’s classroom meeting,” the coach said. Ewbank said he had never signed a player to a no-cut contract while he was coaching the Baltimore Colts in the NFL and, he added, the record spoke for itself. The Colts were the champions of that league in 1958 and ’59. Ewbank declined to name the college players the Jets were interested in. Among the outstanding players eligible for the draft are: Paul Warfield of Ohio State, an offensive or defensive back; Herschell Turner of Kentucky, an offensive lineman; Bob Crenshaw of Baylor, an offensive lineman; Scott Appleton of Texas, a lineman who might be a capable pro linebacker; Lloyd Boss and Bob Brown of Nebraska, both offensive linemen; Willie Brown of Southern California, who is thought of as a possible professional flanker; Bill Truax of Louisiana State, a tight end; and Sherman Lewis, a 152-pound halfback from Michigan State. Finally, Ewbank reported that a collection has been taken among the Jet players for the family of J.D. Tippit, the Dallas policeman who was slain on the day of President Kennedy’s assassination. Curley Johnson, the only Dallas native on the roster, started the collection.
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