Greg Van Roten grew up a New York Jets fan in Rockville Centre and Baldwin and always looked forward to attending training camp at Hofstra and catching some games at the Meadowlands.
Come September, the 30-year-old guard who made 27 starts for Carolina over the past two seasons will fulfill a lifelong dream of playing for Gang Green after officially signing a three-year contract April 2.
“The Jets got involved in the free agency process early and I knew it was going to be difficult to entertain any other offers,” said Van Roten, a 2008 Chaminade High School graduate who lives in Long Beach. “They were targeting me and showed they wanted me right away,” he added. “I’m excited for the day I can get over to the facility and meet the staff and get back to football,” he added.
Van Roten started playing at the youth level with the Baldwin Bombers as a fourth- and fifth-grader before moving to Rockville Centre. He was the quarterback of South Side’s Middle School team for two years and had aspirations of continuing at the position in high school. “Once the coaches noticed my size, I didn’t throw the ball once at Chaminade,” he joked.
Undrafted out of the University of Pennsylvania, Van Roten bounced around before finding stability with Carolina. The 6-foot-3, 305-pounder signed a rookie deal with Green Bay and spent two years there, appearing in 10 games. He was one of Seattle’s final cuts in 2014 and then headed north of the border, playing for Toronto in the Canadian Football League in 2015 and 2016.