Two years ago, Quincy Enunwa stood in front of reporters at One Jets Drive with a smile spanning ear to ear. The source of his jubilation? A four-year contract extension that established him as a major part of New York’s future.
“I’ve been here for so long, this is what I know and this is what I’ve come to love,” Enunwa said at the time. “I want to continue growing with this team.”
Growth certainly seemed imminent for the former sixth-round draft pick. He burst onto the scene with 58 receptions and nearly 900 receiving yards in 2016. He then fought through a neck injury that cost him the 2017 season and returned for 2018 as one of Sam Darnold’s top targets. Unfortunately, that wound up being the pinnacle of Enunwa’s time in the Big Apple, which came to an unceremonious end on Monday.
Enunwa’s release was unlike most that take place at this time of year. He was not shown the door because he did not have the talent to make an impact for the Jets — quite the opposite, in fact. When healthy, Enunwa’s versatility made him a dangerous weapon in New York’s offense. His ability to line up as an outside receiver, in the slot and even as a tight end or H-Back allowed the Jets to get him involved in a plethora of creative ways.
The “when healthy” caveat is what ultimately caused Enunwa’s release. Nobody could have predicted it at the time, but the neck injury that sidelined him in 2017 was a grim sign of things to come. When Enunwa returned to the field in 2018, a high-ankle sprain crept up mid-season and kept him out of the lineup for five games. In last season’s season-opener against the Bills, the neck pain returned. This time, it was a death blow to Enunwa’s once-promising career with the Jets.
Injuries robbed Enunwa of what should have been a long and productive stint in New York. He had already established himself as one of Darnold’s go-to guys and had the potential to develop into an even better player than he already was before the injury bug bit. Had he stayed healthy, there is no telling what Enunwa could have accomplished before calling it a career.
Now, the time for Enunwa to hang up his cleats might be coming sooner than he ever could have imagined. A spinal stenosis diagnosis — the same condition that prematurely ended the career of New York Mets third baseman David Wright — has Enunwa’s career in the balance. Considering the severity of his condition, retiring at only 28 could be a bitter pill he is forced to swallow. If Enunwa opts to go that route, the good news is that he has already found his post-football calling as a mental health advocate with dreams of becoming a sports-performance therapist. The thought of what could have been will likely always linger in the back of his mind, though.
Enunwa had his entire future with the Jets ahead of him. Instead, injuries ripped away what was primed to be a star-studded career. In the same time it took Enunwa to put pen to paper on his contract extension, his career with the only organization he has ever known came to an end.