Category: Jets Training Camp

Jets OL Alijah Vera-Tucker misses Green and White scrimmage with pectoral injury

Jets offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker sat out the Green and White scrimmage with a pectoral injury that has him listed as day-to-day.

The Jets were without one of their starters on the offensive line for the annual Green and White scrimmage Saturday, as Alijah Vera-Tucker sat out with a pectoral injury.

Vera-Tucker is considered day-to-day, according to Robert Saleh. However, New York is currently unsure when its prized rookie will return to action. Dan Feeney took the first-team reps at left guard during the scrimmage in Vera-Tucker’s absence.

While seemingly minor, Vera-Tucker’s injury could potentially have short-term ramifications on the Jets’ offensive line. Vera-Tucker is still learning the responsibilities of an interior offensive lineman as a rookie and the more practice repetitions he takes ahead of the regular season, the better off he will be. Vera-Tucker will still be able to learn from the sideline while injured, but it will not have the same effect as being on the field to jell with his trench mates.

The Jets were also without Quinnen Williams, Daniel Brown, Vinny Curry Ashtyn Davis, Isaiah Dunn, Chuma Edoga, Del’Shawn Phillips, Kyle Phillips and Jabari Zuniga for the scrimmage. Brown did not suit up due to a hamstring injury, while Dunn sat out with a leg injury.

On the returning player front, George Fant practiced for the first time this summer after beginning training camp on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He spent Saturday night rotating at right tackle with Morgan Moses. John Franklin-Myers also returned to the practice field after dealing with a shoulder injury, registering a sack on Zach Wilson during the scrimmage.

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6 takeaways from Jets’ Green and White scrimmage

The Jets hosted their annual Green and White scrimmage at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night. Here are six takeaways from the action.

The Jets returned to MetLife Stadium for the first time since last December on Saturday night, hosting their annual Green and White scrimmage.

Last year’s Green and White scrimmage, which featured New York’s backups soundly defeating its starters, took place at One Jets Drive amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Saturday night’s scrimmage marked Robert Saleh’s first taste of the action and the first time that Jets fans flocked to East Rutherford to watch their team play since December 2019.

“It was awesome, just to be able to go through this thing and go through the stadium and just go through as game-like of an experience as we can create for the players so next Saturday [New York’s preseason opener] is normal,” Saleh said. “It was cool.”

Here are six takeaways from the scrimmage and Gang Green’s return to MetLife.

Robert Saleh still stunned Jets landed Michael Carter, Elijah Moore & Alijah Vera-Tucker

Jets head coach Robert Saleh still can’t believe New York managed to land Michael Carter, Elijah Moore and Alijah Vera-Tucker in the draft.

Joe Douglas entered the 2021 NFL draft on a mission to give Robert Saleh a team loaded with young talent in his first season as Jets head coach. Armed with an abundance of draft capital — including two first-round picks — New York was positioned well to make a serious splash.

Nobody at One Jets Drive could have predicted nearly all of the chips falling in Gang Green’s favor once the draft opened for business, though.

After landing Zach Wilson with the No. 2 pick, Douglas swung a deal to trade up and select Alijah Vera-Tucker with the 14th pick. The Jets had Vera-Tucker high on their board ahead of the draft, but they did not think he would be there when they picked at No. 23. Douglas wiped out that possibility by moving up nine spots to land the USC offensive lineman.

Once New York moved up from No. 23, Elijah Moore was thought to be out of play. The Ole Miss product, who Douglas and company viewed as a first-round talent, spectacularly fell to the Jets in the second round at No. 34. Douglas then sweated out the third round in anticipation of Michael Carter being selected before New York’s first fourth-round pick rolled around.

Like Moore and Vera-Tucker before him, Carter somehow tumbled down to the Jets.

All three of the Jets’ prized rookies have flashed their potential in the early days of training camp. Each day he takes the practice field, Saleh still marvels at the fact that New York was able to land not just one, but three of the top offensive targets on its draft board.

“If you would have told me that we would have come away with those three, plus Michael Carter, in the fourth round, I would have asked you what you were smoking,” Saleh said Tuesday.

Saleh’s excitement over Carter, Moore and Vera-Tucker is understandable. Carter and Moore both have the makings of future starters — with both having a chance to make that happen as soon as this upcoming season — and Vera-Tucker is essentially already locked in as the Jets’ starting left guard next to Mekhi Becton.

Douglas has placed an emphasis on building through the draft since he arrived in Florham Park. The draft is an imperfect science, but early returns are New York’s general manager struck gold with Carter, Moore and Vera-Tucker.

The success of Saleh’s tenure as Jets head coach will likely come down to Gang Green’s young foundation. Wilson’s play will go a long way in determining the ultimate outcome of the Saleh era, but Carter, Moore and Vera-Tucker are three building blocks New York is more than happy to have on board.

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Josh Johnson signs with Jets, beginning QB’s 17th NFL roster stint

The Jets signed 35-year-old Josh Johnson to join their young quarterback room of Zach Wilson, James Morgan and Mike White.

The Jets added to their quarterback room, signing veteran Josh Johnson. New York waived linebacker Brendan White in a corresponding move.

Johnson hasn’t seen a regular season snap in the NFL since 2018 when he played four games with Washington, but he did play in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football and the XFL, as well as two brief stints with the Lions and 49ers, since then. Johnson played in 33 NFL games with eight starts, completing 55.2 percent of his passing attempts for 1,632 yards, eight touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

The 35-year-old has endured quite the football journey since being drafted in the fifth round by the Buccaneers in 2009. He’s played in four leagues – the NFL, the United Football League, the AAF and the XFL – and been on an NFL roster 17 different times, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

As you may have guessed, this isn’t Johnson’s first time with the Jets. New York signed him for a week during training camp in 2015 to back up Ryan Fitzpatrick. That was after Geno Smith suffered a broken jaw at the hands of IK Enemkpali.

Johnson will provide an experienced presence in a Jets locker room that features three quarterbacks who have never attempted a pass in a regular-season game. Rookie Zach Wilson is the presumed starter, but backups James Morgan and Mike White shouldn’t provide too much solace if Wilson were to miss time. The Jets worked Johnson out in late July before Wilson signed his contract, so they clearly liked him enough to bring him on officially.

Robert Saleh previously said that he wasn’t planning on adding a veteran passer to this group, but he and Joe Douglas obviously changed their minds. Johnson might not make the final 53-man roster when final cuts happen later this summer, but he’ll at least give the Jets another person to look at for the backup role.

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Jets OL Cameron Clark taken to hospital after scary neck injury

Jets OL Cameron Clark was taken to the hospital after suffering a neck injury. Robert Saleh said he had “some” movement in his extremities.

A scary scene unfolded at Jets practice Tuesday when offensive lineman Cameron Clark was carted off the field and left in an ambulance after suffering a neck injury.

Robert Saleh cut practice short after Clark left the field on a spine board. The coach didn’t go into details about the cause or severity of the injury, though Saleh did say that Clark had “some” movement in his extremities. He added that the team will know more later Tuesday.

Clark was taken to Morristown Medical Center, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Clark was set to be a backup lineman – likely a guard – in his second season after the Jets took him in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. He did not play at all last year due in part to a shoulder injury.

Two other Jets left Tuesday’s practice early with injuries. Backup offensive lineman Chuma Edoga suffered a knee injury, but Saleh said that he doesn’t think it’s a “long-term” ailment. Defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga exited early as well, though Saleh didn’t know what the injury was when he spoke to reporters.

Zuniga missed a lot of time with a quad injury during his rookie season in 2020.

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Zach Wilson reflects on loss of Greg Knapp

Jets QB Zach Wilson developed a bond with Greg Knapp prior to the coach’s tragic death.

The Jets suffered an unspeakable tragedy days before training camp when passing game specialist Greg Knapp died following a bike accident.

Knapp died five days after he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle in Northern California. He was 58. Knapp is survived by his wife, Charlotte, and three daughters.

Robert Saleh hired Knapp, a longtime quarterback mentor, this offseason to join the Jets and aid Zach Wilson’s development. Knapp and Wilson developed a relationship during the spring, making his death a tough pill for New York’s rookie to swallow.

“At first it was shock. Complete shock,” Wilson said Friday. “Just because I had just been talking to him the day before, right before the incident happened. It was almost like I didn’t believe it. I felt like I could have just called him right then on the phone and he would have answered. It really hit later on when I was like, ‘Jeez, this is rough.’ I was just praying for him and his family and everyone else involved that we could kind of get through this together.”

Knapp was an NFL coach for 24 years prior to joining the Jets, working most recently as the Falcons quarterbacks coach from 2018-2020. Knapp also worked with the quarterbacks for the Broncos, Raiders, Texans, Seahawks and 49ers.

“It’s tough, man,” Wilson said. “Life is a precious thing.”

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Denzel Mims working with Jets’ third-team wide receivers in training camp

Jets wide receiver Denzel Mims has dropped to New York’s third-string offense in training camp after a promising rookie season.

What had already been an offseason to forget for Denzel Mims has taken a turn for the worst in the early days of Jets training camp.

After spending the spring working with New York’s second-team offense, Mims has tumbled even further down Mike LaFleur’s wide receiver depth chart. The Baylor product worked alongside Lawrence Cager and Jeff Smith with the Jets’ third-string wide receiver group on Friday, according to The Athletic’s Connor Hughes. Braxton Berrios, Elijah Moore and Vyncint Smith received the second-team reps.

Mims was a perfect fit in Adam Gase’s system as a rookie and flashed his big-play potential on a weekly basis, but there is a concern that he is a square peg in a round hole in Mike LaFleur’s offense. LaFleur’s scheme emphasizes short and intermediate route running. The offensive coordinator said during the spring that he wanted to see Mims’ route running between the numbers improve, but LaFleur was also complimentary of New York second-round pick from a year ago, praising his ability to make plays down the field.

Mims’ fall to third-team is an indication that he is not where the Jets need him to be in his development right now. Berrios, Moore and even Smith, on the other hand, look like better fits in the offense.

There could still be a place for Mims in the Jets’ offense in 2021 — even the west coast system needs a reliable deep threat — but the likes of Moore, Keelan Cole and Corey Davis can also make plays downfield and are far from one-trick ponies. New York cannot afford to run Mims out there with its first-team offense if his route tree remains limited.

Mims was at the top of the Jets’ wide receiver depth chart less than a year ago. Now, he will have to spend the next month climbing his way back up from the bottom of the pecking order. His ability to do so could go a long way in determining how his future with New York plays out.

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Jets QB Zach Wilson talks introduction to NFL’s business side

Zach Wilson debuted at camp after contract negotiations delayed the start of his summer. The Jets QB spoke about football’s business side.

When the Jets kicked off training camp practices on Wednesday, Zach Wilson was nowhere to be found. Instead of suiting up at One Jets Drive, he was in Los Angeles, getting a glimpse at the business side of football.

Wilson missed New York’s first two training camp practices as his representation and Joe Douglas worked out the kinks of his rookie contract. After prolonged negotiations, Wilson received the upfront, non-deferred signing bonus his reps desired, while the Jets included the same offset language that was written into Sam Darnold’s rookie deal in 2018.

New York’s prized rookie quarterback made his training camp debut on Friday in forgettable fashion, struggling to consistently complete passes after opening the day with an impressive deep ball to Elijah Moore. His first camp performance aside, Wilson was just happy to be back between the white lines after receiving his introduction to an aspect of football that never previously concerned him.

“Now money’s involved,” Wilson said. “My whole life I just wanted to play ball because I love the game. I wanted to get the business done so I could do what I love.”

Wilson went on to say that his girlfriend said she forgot that the quarterback will make money now that he’s a pro. “That’s cause the best part of it is the game,” Wilson told her.

The Jets would have liked to have Wilson on the field to begin training camp, but two missed practices are not going to do much to harm the BYU product’s development. Darnold missed three in 2018 and still won the starting job.

Wilson looked good throughout the spring and while his play on Friday left a lot to be desired, that can be chalked up to typical rookie struggles more than the contract negotiations that kept him sidelined.

With those negotiations now ancient history, Wilson is not planning on giving too much attention to his financials as he prepares for the beginning of his rookie season against the Panthers in Week 1. The 21-year-old will be $22.9 million richer once he receives his signing bonus within the next two weeks, but that money won’t bring him any closer to his ultimate goal with the Jets.

“You can’t buy a Super Bowl,” Wilson responded when asked what he plans to purchase with his new wealth, “so we’ll work for one of those.”

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Robert Saleh: Zach Wilson has ‘the inside lane’ to Jets’ starting QB job

Robert Saleh wouldn’t name Zach Wilson the Week 1 starter just yet, but he did say it’s his job to lose.

Robert Saleh says he doesn’t want to make a promise he can’t keep when it comes to naming Zach Wilson the Week 1 starting quarterback outright, but he did offer a telling assessment of who will line up under center against the Panthers on Sept. 12.

“Call it the inside lane,” Saleh said of Wilson and the starting job after the quarterback’s first practice Friday. “It’s his to lose.”

It’s an obvious statement for an obvious situation: The Jets drafted Wilson second overall this year to be their quarterback of the future and to start right away. Mike White and James Morgan practiced in Wilson’s absence for two days before Wilson signed his contract, but neither poses any real threat to the rookie’s ascension.

“He took all the first-team reps,” Saleh added. “It’s just a matter of him continuing to get better like we know he will and progress the way we expect him to.”

Wilson’s first training camp practice wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. He struggled at times after hitting Elijah Moore on a nice deep shot for his first passing attempt of the day. Wilson went 5-10 with an interception in 11-on-11 drills and only 1-6 during seven-on-seven, according to NorthJersey.com’s Andy Vasquez.

Saleh credited his defense with a good day against the Jets’ top quarterback. Saleh noted that it will take time for Wilson to develop and he’s still catching up on the playbook. He also shot down the excuse that Wilson may have been jetlagged from his early morning flight from California to New Jersey on Thursday to sign his contract.

“This is his first year in the league,” Saleh said. “He is a rookie. Just like every other rookie, there are going to be ebbs and flows.”

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Jets’ new wide-zone blocking scheme has Connor McGovern ‘fired up’

Connor McGovern is a veteran of the wide-zone blocking scheme and thinks the Jets’ offensive line can thrive in the system.

Connor McGovern’s first season with the Jets did not go as planned, but New York’s veteran center is excited to line up in an offensive scheme that might help his unit boost its production in 2021.

Mike LaFleur and John Benton’s arrival in the Big Apple marked a change in blocking philosophy. The Jets will run an outside zone blocking scheme in 2021, placing an emphasis on the offensive line’s ability to block zones and spaces on the field instead of a specific defender.

New York’s offensive line was not built to run a wide-zone scheme under Adam Gase, as his system was predicated on man-to-man blocking assignments. The Jets still have some holdovers who were brought in for that specific offense, but McGovern does not foresee that being an issue in 2021.

He feels Gang Green’s current crop of linemen — himself included — have the versatility necessary to thrive under the new circumstances.

“This offensive line is definitely built for the outside zone run game,” McGovern said Thursday. “We have a bunch of athletic dudes out there. That’s the family tree that this offense comes from. For me especially, that’s what I like. That’s kind of been my bread and butter and what fits my strengths is wide zone, so I’m definitely fired up about it.”

McGovern’s assessment of the Jets’ offensive line and the group’s overall athleticism is an accurate one. Mekhi Becton is relatively light on his feet for someone with a mammoth frame, while Alijah Vera-Tucker brings the athleticism of a tackle to his left guard position. Alex Lewis and Greg Van Roten have both had success as pulling guards in the past and can translate that into success blocking in a zone system. George Fant and Morgan Moses both have skill sets to operate efficiently in a wide zone.

Then there’s McGovern, who played in a wide-zone blocking scheme with the Broncos.

The Jets have placed an emphasis on establishing the run in the early days of training camp. Pounding away on the ground is the key to a successful west coast offense and it is pertinent that New York’s offensive line picks up its new zone blocking assignments before the beginning of the regular season.

With a veteran of the scheme in McGovern leading the charge, there is a good chance the Jets quickly take to their new style of blocking and consistently open up enough holes for the likes of Michael Carter and Ty Johnson.

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