The Jets lost another starting defensive player, but only for a portion of the season.
Strongside linebacker Jarrad Davis won’t return to the team until around Week 6, Robert Saleh said Monday. Davis suffered an ankle injury in the Jets’ preseason win over the Packers on Saturday. Saleh wouldn’t say if Davis was a candidate for injured reserve and added that he doesn’t think it was a high ankle sprain.
Davis was carted off the field in the first half of the Packers game and didn’t return. Though the initial prognosis was “promising,” Davis is still expected to miss the Jets’ first five games of the season. The hope is that he returns after the team’s Week 6 bye and plays against the Patriots in Week 7.
The Jets signed Davis to a one-year, $5.5 million contract over the offseason. His injury follows Carl Lawson’s season-ending ruptured Achilles. Davis and Lawson were two of the Jets’ most notable defensive free agent signings.
Saleh said that rookie Jamien Sherwood — not Blake Cashman — is expected to start in Davis’ place. The Jets drafted Sherwood in the fifth round out of Auburn this spring and converted him from safety to linebacker. He and Hamsah Nasirildeen will round out the Jets’ starting linebacker corps with C.J. Mosley manning the middle of the defense.
Other Jets injuries from the Packers game include tackle Conor McDermott, who isn’t expected to return until after the season starts. He was carted off the field with a knee injury. Defensive end Ronald Blair (hamstring) and quarterback Mike White (ribs) are considered day-to-day.
Saleh also hopes to have rookies Alijah Vera-Tucker and Elijah Moore ready for Week 1.
[listicle id=656341]