National Football League

Jets sign WR Laveranues Coles for fourth time

Published Dec. 5, 2010 10:23 p.m. ET

foxsports

Laveranues Coles is a member of the Jets - again.

New York signed the veteran wide receiver to his fourth stint with the team Sunday, a day before the Jets play the Patriots in New England for first place in the AFC East.

The Jets had an open roster spot after safety Jim Leonhard was placed on injured reserve Saturday with a broken shin bone.

The signing could provide a motivational spark for the team before its biggest game this season. It could also give Coles, assigned his familiar No. 87, a chance to retire as a member of the Jets.

Coles, who began his career with New York in 2000, was with the team in training camp this summer, but was cut before the regular season. He has not played since, but coach Rex Ryan said when the Jets cut him - in a scene shown on HBO's ''Hard Knocks'' - that they wanted to re-sign him after the first game.

Instead, the Jets re-signed David Clowney - now with Carolina - and cut running back Danny Woodhead, who signed with New England and is now the Patriots' second-leading rusher.

One of the franchise's most popular players, Coles has 674 catches for 8,609 yards and 49 touchdowns. Coles, who turns 33 on Dec. 29, ranks fourth in Jets history - behind Don Maynard (627), Wayne Chrebet (580) and Al Toon (517) - with 459 catches.

He insisted throughout training camp that this would be the last stop of his playing career, and this may indeed be it for Coles - however long this latest stint lasts.

Coles, drafted in the third round out of Florida State in 2000, signed with Washington after three seasons with New York, but was traded back to the Jets for Santana Moss two years later. Coles was allowed to become an unrestricted free agent last offseason, and signed with Cincinnati. He struggled in his one season with the Bengals and was released in March.