Khalen Saunders had a day to forget on Sunday. The New York Jets’ defensive tackle entered the game against his old team after being waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars a month ago. While the Jaguars are likely to make the playoffs, the Jets are already eliminated; however, his day was about to get worse.
Saunders was involved in a melee with his old teammates, surrounded by offensive linemen. When a referee approached the situation, Saunders was being separated, but he ended up touching the referee, which typically results in an automatic ejection.
Khalen Saunders Hits At NFL Refs Following Jets’ Ejection Vs. Jaguars
Saunders was removed from the game at a point where nothing could help the Jets. The Jaguars were already leading 38-13 with seven minutes to go in the third quarter, and the ejection only added insult to injury.
The defensive tackle, however, was extremely upset with the situation. He took to Twitter to express his fury, saying that he had never been ejected in seven years and was “fending folks off.” He called out the official profile of NFL referees and urged them to “do better.”
7 years, no ejections, no unsportsmanlike conducts, i think maybe one Unnecessary roughness for a tackle right at the whistle in a preseason game..
Surrounded by opponents, fending folks off me,
and here i am “striking an official” lmao gtfo.Do better. @NFL @NFLOfficiating pic.twitter.com/3TOdE8Uu35
— Bink Saunders (@khalenNOTkaylen) December 14, 2025
It’s fair to wonder the degree of frustration for Saunders, who plays for one of the league’s worst teams. He spent the first half of the season with the Jaguars, but the team decided to release him at a time when things were going well.
Facing his old teammates and taking a big defeat was never going to be easy for the veteran defender. However, his view that he was just shrugging off people over him is also easy to see. His teammates had already returned to the sideline, and no real confusion was brewing there.
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The Jaguars efficiently handled the Jets’ defense. The game ended 48-20, with Trevor Lawrence accounting for six touchdowns during the game. Our PFSN Defense Impact Metric ranks the unit as No. 25, but they’re likely to go down a few spots after this loss.
Saunders is on his third team this season, having joined the Jaguars through a trade with the New Orleans Saints. It’s been a challenging year, and the frustration surely has mounted.
