La’Mical Perine isn’t playing for his own good. At least that’s the way Adam Gase explained the rookie running back’s minimal usage.
Perine got zero offensive snaps in the Jets’ 30-10 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. He only saw six snaps total for the game, all of which came on special teams. When Gase was asked on Monday why Perine didn’t see the field on offense, the coach’s response was that he doesn’t want to put “too much” on Perine’s shoulders and “stunt his growth,” per The Athletic’s Connor Hughes.
In total, Perine has received just 40 offensive snaps on the year. Compared to other Jets running backs, Perine is second-to-last in offensive snaps. Frank Gore leads all Jets running backs with 137 offensive snaps, followed by Le’Veon Bell with 78 offensive snaps. Kalen Ballage, who is no longer with the Jets, is third with 57.
Perine clearly wasn’t happy about not seeing the field on Sunday or with Gase’s explanation, as he liked a tweet that criticized his head coach’s reasoning.
Bell did something similar on Sunday, liking tweets about getting traded and not getting the ball enough in the passing game. Bell was only targeted once by Joe Flacco on Sunday. Gase said he would prefer that Bell take his complaints directly to him, but that didn’t stop Perine from expressing his own frustrations in the same way.
It’s doesn’t make much sense that the Jets are using Perine so scarcely — or not at all. Now 0-5 and uncompetitive in every game they’ve played, the Jets should be seeing what a young player like Perine has to offer. Now is the time to find out if he can be part of the team’s future, even if that future doesn’t involve Gase.
Bell and Gore are not going to be a part of that future, either. So there’s no reason why a 22-year-old running back, who the Jets used a third-round pick on, should not see the field at least once on offense.