Category: Jets News and Notes

Jets OT Kelvin Beachum reaches out to NFLPA on Quincy Enunwa’s behalf

New York Jets offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum is supporting Quincy Enunwa after the Jets fined him for missing treatment.

As it turns out, Quincy Enunwa isn’t the only person at One Jets Drive who is unhappy with the fine New York issued him for missing treatment.

Kelvin Beachum, who is a player representative for the Jets, reached out to the NFL Players Association on Friday to see if Enunwa has any possible recourse to dispute his fine. Enunwa publicized his fine on Twitter on Thursday night, posting a picture of a television screen displaying his fine for everyone in team facilities to see.

“[The union] will put some things in place to see what’s the course of action,” Beachum said.

Beachum, who has played in the NFL for eight years, said he has never seen a team post fines and make them visible to all players. Gase’s public posting of fines is a practice that dates back to his days as Dolphins head coach.

“We handle our stuff in-house and some people choose to use social media,” Gase said when asked about Enunwa’s unhappiness. “There’s probably a reason they’re doing that.”

According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, players typically don’t have many options for recourse when fighting a team fine as opposed to a league-issued fine.

Since Christopher Johnson announced that Gase would return in 2020, a handful of Jets have come out and supported their head coach. Enunwa and Beachum’s actions show that not everyone in the locker room is on board with how Gase is managing the team right now, though.

Targeting Josh Norman among 4 keys to Jets’ offense vs. Washington

The Jets passing offense should succeed against the soft Redskins secondary, and that begins with attacking cornerback Josh Norman.

The Jets take on another easy defense this week in the Washington Redskins and will look to string together consecutive wins for the first time since Week 6 of the 2018 season. Sam Darnold enjoyed a nice bounce-back game against the Giants in Week 10 and will face an even weaker secondary against the lowly Redskins, while Le’Veon Bell could find lots of running lanes against a bad run defense.

The Jets should be able to move the ball effectively considering Washington allows a league-high 6.7 plays per drive and teams convert 50 percent of their third-down attempts against the Redskins. The biggest thing for New York will be its ability to maintain the ball and attack Washington’s weakest points on defense.

Here are four keys to the Jets offense in Week 11. 

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Jets injury report: Le’Veon Bell questionable vs. Washington

The Jets have another long injury report for Sunday’s game in D.C.

Another week, another long final injury report for the Jets.

New York has already listed Matthias Farley, C.J. Mosley, Ryan Kalil and Paul Worrilow out for Sunday’s game in Washington, but don’t be surprised if that list grows. Darryl Roberts is doubtful after missing last week’s game, while Le’Veon Bell is among eight questionable Jets after enduring rib and knee injuries this week in addition to an illness.

Here’s the full report:

 

As for Washington, Tim Settle, Chris Thompson, Vernon Davis and Paul Richardson Jr. won’t play. Deshazor Everett and Montae Nicholson are questionable.

Jets nominate Steve McLendon for Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award

New York has decided to nominate defensive lineman Steve McLendon as their team representative.

The Jets found a real diamond in the rough when they lured Steve McLendon from the Steelers. Ever since, McLendon has been a defensive anchor for New York but, more importantly, a leader.

This year, his efforts as a leader are being noticed.

Every season the National Football League recognizes one player for their conduct on the field. This individual is selected as the recipient of the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. New York has decided to nominate McLendon as their team representative.

The honor is named after the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Art Rooney. Rooney is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

To become a finalist, a panel of former players from the NFL Legends Community narrows the field. Each team nominates one player, thus leaving 32 athletes for the panel to consider. They narrow the nominees to eight and leave the rest to current NFL players.

The award is decided by a vote among players. Alongside the honor, the NFL Foundation grants a $25,000 donation to a charity of the player’s choosing.

Past winners, from most recent, include Drew Brees, Luke Kuechly, Frank Gore, Charles Woodson and Larry Fitzgerald.

Adam Gase grateful for Jets CEO Christopher Johnson’s support

Jets HC Adam is glad that Christopher Johnson assured him that his job is safe for 2020.

Jets head coach Adam Gase was naturally pleased with what CEO Christopher Johnson had to say about him on Wednesday.

Johnson said that the Jets will not make a head coaching change before or after this season, meaning Gase will be the coach in 2020. While Gase has never worried about his job security, it was still refreshing for the head coach to hear that his boss has confidence in him going forward.

“To get his support, and for him to see what we’re trying to do, that’s an important step for us,” Gase told reporters.

Johnson told the rest of the team the news before the game against the Giants. The news was well-received.

“If everything works out how it’s supposed to and Adam’s here again, that would be absolutely amazing,” Sam Darnold said. “I think most of the guys on the team, if not the whole team, already had that much confidence in Coach Gase.”

When a coach’s job status is brought into question, it could cause players to be distracted from doing their job on the field. However, Gase hasn’t noticed that in this locker room.

“Nobody in this building, but I can’t speak for the outside,” Gase said. “I’m closed in a little bit.”

People on the outside have certainly called for Gase to be fired. Last week, a group of Jets fans organized for a plane to be flown over New York City that carried a banner that read “Fire Adam Gase!” After the Jets lost to the Dolphins, fans could be heard chanting for the coach to be fired.

That’s not going to happen though, at least not any time soon.

Pressuring Dwayne Haskins among Jets’ keys to defense vs. Washington

The Jets face another rookie quarterback in the Redskins’ Dwayne Haskins and need to make him beat the defense.

The Jets get their second chance to build a winning streak this week when they head to Washington to take on the Redskins. On the heels of their second win of the year over the Giants, the Jets will now take on one of the worst offensive teams in the league. Washington averages a league-low 12 points per game and ranks 30th in yards.

It looks like an easy matchup on paper, but the Jets are seriously thin at important positions on defense, including linebacker and cornerback. Just this past week, the Jets gave up 281 total yards and four passing touchdowns to the Giants, so they of all teams cannot overlook the lowly Redskins. 

Here are four keys for the Jets defense in Week 11.

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Quincy Enunwa upset with Jets after being fined for missing treatment

The Jets have another angry player mad for how the team is handling his injury. This time it’s wide receiver Quincy Enunwa.

Add Quincy Enunwa to the list of injured Jets angry with the organization.

Enunwa, who’s been on injured reserve with a neck injury since mid-September, posted a series of angry tweets directed at the Jets for fining him $27,900 for missing two injury treatments.

Enunwa later specified that he only missed those treatments because he was taking his wife, Deanna, out for Veteran’s Day lunch and because he had a family emergency. Deanna Enunwa served in the U.S. Army from 2007-2010, according to her LinkedIn account.

“The biggest reason it hurts is that I’m on IR for the second time in my career and the doctor told me I have a 50/50 chance of coming back to play,” Enunwa later tweeted. “I shouldn’t even HAVE to be in that building being reminded every day of what I can’t do.

“This s—- feels like punishment already and then they FINE me the max. And then want me to continue to do my rehab there and IF I get healthy they want me to then play for them after.”

Enunwa says he only posted the tweets because multiple teammates told him it’s “f—-ed up” that the Jets are fining him for missing treatments.

This isn’t the first time the Jets have been less than hospitable to their injured players. Lest we forgot the Kelechi Osemele injury debacle in which the Jets denied the guard surgery for a torn labrum, fined him for missing practice and ultimately cut Osemele for getting surgery on his own. Osemele filed a grievance against the Jets before they cut him. Shortly after that, quarterback Luke Falk also filed a grievance against the team for cutting him after he suffered a hip injury that required surgery.

Joe Douglas is less than six months into his tenure as the Jets general manager and he already has three bad injury situations on his ledger. Not only are all three a terrible look for the Jets organization, but the pattern means there is definitely something wrong with the front office’s ability to deal with injuries.

Enunwa signed a four-year, $36 million contract extension with the Jets last offseason, and the Jets need to do right by a player who has battled multiple injuries since being drafted in the sixth round of 2014 draft.

Jets injury report: Le’Veon Bell returns on limited basis

Le’Veon Bell (ribs/knee) was back on a limited basis at practice on Thursday after missing Wednesday’s practice with an illness.

Le’Veon Bell sat out of Wednesday’s practice with an illness, but he was back on Thursday.

Adam Gase said that Bell, who has also been listed with rib and knee issues, is expected to take part in practice Thursday on a limited basis.

In his first season with the Jets, Bell has dealt with multiple aliments, rushing behind a makeshift offensive line in his first season back after sitting out the entire 2018 season. Bell has gone for multiple MRIs this season, one on his shoulder and the other on his knee.

Additionally, LB Brandon Copeland (hip), CB Darryl Roberts (calf) and Ryan Kalil (knee) did not practice on Thursday.

Neither Roberts nor Kalil played vs. the Giants, but the Jets are hoping to have Copeland on Sunday. The Jets have already lost five inside linebackers to injuries this season, so Paul Worrilow and B.J. Bello would be the next men up.

Jets sign OL Ben Braden to practice squad

The Jets have signed offensive lineman Ben Braden to the practice squad.

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After elevating Kyron Brown from the practice squad, the Jets had a spot to fill.

The team announced on Wednesday that they signed offensive lineman Ben Braden to the practice squad.

Braden was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan in 2017. He didn’t make the initial 53-man roster in 2017, but was signed to the practice squad. The Jets then signed him to a future/reserve contract in January 2018.

In 2018, Braden made the 53-man roster, but was waived shortly after that and then re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster at the end of November. In 2019, Braden was back on the practice squad before being waived in September. Braden was signed to the Packers practice squad a couple days later and was waived last week.

Jets to have representative at Colin Kaepernick’s workout

The Jets will have a representative at Colin Kaepernick’s private workout.

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With the Jets backup quarterback situation in question for next season, they will take a look at Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick is participating in a private workout in Atlanta on Saturday for all 32 teams. The Jets will send a representative to watch Kaepernick’s workout, according to ESPN. The event will include an on-field workout followed by an interview.

On Wednesday, Jets head coach Adam Gase was asked about Kaepernick’s upcoming workout, but he declined to discuss the quarterback.

“I got to worry about this week,” Gase told reporters. “That’s what my job is. That’s a question for personnel guys.”

The last time Kaepernick played in the NFL was in 2016 with the 49ers. It was in San Francisco that he began to protest racial and social injustice, kneeling during the national anthem. Before that, he led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2012 and made the NFC Championship in 2013. After that, his production started to dip.

Many believe Kaepernick has been blacklisted by the NFL for his kneeling protests that began in 2016. After being released by the 49ers in 2016, Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL in 2017. He and the NFL reached a confidential settlement in 2019.

The Jets could use a backup quarterback, but it remains to be seen how real of a shot they or any other team will give Kaepernick.