Israel Abanikanda cast an assured tone in the Jets locker room Tuesday afternoon, even as he waited to hear whether he would indeed be a part of the team’s initial 53-man roster.

The 21-year-old native of Brooklyn put together a strong preseason, capped off by a 45-yard touchdown run against the Giants over the weekend, but as the likely fourth running back, he was not necessarily safe until he knew for sure.

“I’ve been dealing with situations like this my whole life,” Abanikanda told The Post. “It’s really not anything new, competition. Just gotta compete. Make everybody better.”

Nerves?

“Nah,” he said. “No nerves at all. Just [taking] it day by day, leaving it all up to God. Just doing what I gotta do.”

When the Jets announced their roster shortly before 5:30 p.m., it turned out to be enough.

In a 53-man group that had little by way of surprises, Abanikanda was on the right side of the cut line, joining a running backs room that also includes Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis.

The Jets got down to 53 by putting a trio of players on injured reserve or the non-football injury list, while 34 players were either waived or released.

There was also a rare trade with the Bills, as the Jets sent kick returner Brandon Codrington to Buffalo along with a 2026 seventh-round pick, getting back the Bills’ 2026 sixth-rounder.

It marked the first deal between the two franchises since 1987, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Notably, tight end Kenny Yeboah was among those who went on IR (defensive lineman Leki Fotu and QB Jordan Travis were the other two, with Travis going on the NFI list), meaning Jeremy Ruckert and Tyler Conklin are the only two tight ends on the roster.

With more roster juggling likely to come over the next few days as the league sorts itself out following 32 teams’ worth of cuts, that makes tight end a spot to keep an eye on.

Yeboah and Fotu are guaranteed to miss at least four weeks with IR designations.

As for Travis, head coach Robert Saleh did not sound optimistic about the FSU product returning from a broken leg anytime soon.

“His rehab’s gonna be a little longer than we anticipated, obviously,” Saleh said. “He’s in a great place. He’s in every meeting. Goes to all the walk-throughs. Hopefully it’s something we can revisit later in the year.”

Aside from tight end, the other notable development came in the defensive line group, which ended up featuring 10 names, including undrafted free agents Leonard Taylor III, Eric Watts and Braiden McGregor.

Takk McKinley, a 2017 first-round pick by Atlanta, who did not play last season after being cut by the Cowboys, also made the roster following a 2 ¹/₂-sack performance in the preseason finale against the Giants.

Jaylen Key — Mr. Irrelevant in the 2024 draft — was among those waived, with tight end Zack Kuntz, a 2023 seventh-rounder, being the only other Jets draftee on the wrong side of the cut line.

Neither Adrian Martinez nor Andrew Peasley, who had been competing for the third quarterback spot, made the 53-man roster, though the practice squad was always the likely destination for the victor of that particular battle.

There will be movement over the next 24 hours, with the waiver window closing Wednesday at noon and teams able to sign 16 players to their practice squads after that.

The Jets have the 10th slot in waiver priority, which is based on their 2023 record, until Sept. 24.