Jets sign QB Adrian Martinez and CB Kendall Sheffield

Earlier Saturday, before the Jets’ fourth practice, the team announced the signings of QB Adrian Martinez and CB Kendall Sheffield. QB Ben Bryant and CB Nehemiah Shelton were released in corresponding moves.

Martinez most recently played with the Birmingham Stallons in the United Football League (UFL), earning MVP honors while passing for 1,749 yards and 15 TDs in addition to leading the league with 528 yards rushing. The Nebraska/Kansas State product, who remained undrafted in 2023, originally signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions and spent the last preseason with them. Martinez (6-2, 220) appeared in 49 college games from 2018-22 and hit 63.6 percent of his passes for 9,752 yards with 51 carries and 31 touchdowns.

Sheffield, a fourth-round pick of the Falcons (No. 111 overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft, appeared in 38 games (20 starts) for the Falcons from 2019-21 and recorded 101 tackles, 6 PD and 2 FF. Last season, Sheffield (5-10, 212) had brief stints on the 49ers and Titans practice squads. The former Ohio State Buckeye joins a defensive unit that is led by coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, a defensive assistant and coordinator with the Falcons during Sheffield’s first two professional seasons.

Bryant, who played collegiately at Cincinnati (2018-20, ’22), Eastern Michigan (2021) and Northwestern (2023), signed with the Jets last Thursday.

Shelton (6-2, 185), who joined the Green & White last Tuesday, spent last summer with the Jets after a stint with the UFL’s Memphis Showboats. He was also a member of the Jets’ practice squad last fall. At San Jose State, Shelton recorded 195 tackles, 8 interceptions and 32 pass defenses in 45 games.