Jets vs. Colts: Braxton Berrios questionable with Breshad Perriman, Jamison Crowder out

Already down two wide receivers, the Jets may also be without Braxton Berrios on Sunday.

Already down two wide receivers, the Jets may also be without Braxton Berrios against the Colts.

The slot man was listed as questionable for Week 3 with a hamstring injury following Friday’s practice. This news comes with confirmation that fellow receivers Breshad Perriman (ankle) and Jamison Crowder (hamstring) will also miss Sunday’s game. That leaves the Jets with Chris Hogan and Josh Malone as the only fully healthy receivers on the active roster, though it’s expected that UDFA Lawrence Cager will be called up from the practice squad.

The injury woes don’t stop there for the Jets. S Ashtyn Davis (groin), RT George Fant (concussion) and CB Quincy Wilson (concussion) are all out as well. Meanwhile, CB Nate Hairston (hip) and C Connor McGovern (hamstring) are also questionable.

The Colts will be without two of their own. LB Matthew Thomas (ankle) and CB Rock Ya-Sin (illness) will be sidelined Sunday. TE Jack Doyle is questionable.

Braxton Berrios gets rare chance to impact Jets offense with Jamison Crowder out

Braxton Berrios will get a rare chance to make an impact on the Jets’ offense due to the injury of Jamison Crowder.

Braxton Berrios will get a rare opportunity to impact the Jets offense on Sunday against the 49ers when he replaces the injured Jamison Crowder in the slot.

Crowder (hamstring) was officially ruled out by the Jets on Friday, as he did not practice on Thursday or Friday. That means Berrios will fill in for him in the home opener. Berrios didn’t play any offensive snaps last week in Buffalo, but Adam Gase trusts that he and Sam Darnold will be on the same page come Sunday’s game.

“I have a lot of confidence in him,” Gase told reporters. “When we got him last year I was really excited just seeing him throughout college. We’ll get out there and it seems like him and Sam have good chemistry because they’ve worked enough together.”

Berrios piggybacked off of Gase’s comments by saying he’s had a lot of practice time with Darnold and doesn’t believe chemistry will be an issue between them.

“We do have a good chemistry,” Berrios said, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “My job is to be where he expects me to be.”

Berrios only played 85 offensive snaps in his first season with Gang Green in 2019. Most of his playing time came on special teams, where he had 99 total snaps. When Berrios did play offense, he wasn’t very productive. Berrios was targeted 13 times last season but only recorded six catches for 115 yards.

Most of Berrios’s yardage came on one play, too. He had a 69-yard catch in Week 11 against the Raiders last season. Without that catch, Berrios would only have five catches for 46 yards for his entire NFL career.

Sunday is a big opportunity for Berrios to insert himself into the Jets’ offensive gameplan more often. Crowder will eventually regain his starting job once he comes back from injury, but even then, the Jets will still lack receiving depth.

Berrios will get a chance to help solve that problem this weekend.


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Jets WR Jamison Crowder ruled out for Week 2 matchup vs. 49ers

Jets wide receiver Jamison Crowder is out for Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Sam Darnold is down yet another playmaker for Sunday’s contest against the San Francisco 49ers, as Jamison Crowder has been ruled out by Adam Gase.

Crowder is currently nursing a hamstring injury which limited him in practice on Wednesday and forced him out of action on Thursday. Crowder is also not practicing on Friday, prompting New York to rule him out. Despite his impending Week 2 absence, Gase does not think Crowder’s hamstring injury will become a long-term issue.

Crowder emerged as Darnold’s favorite target and that rang true against the Bills in Week 1. He was targeted a team-high 13 times against Buffalo and caught seven passes for 115 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

With Crowder out, Braxton Berrios will slide into the slot position. On outside, the Jets will have Breshad Perriman and Chris Hogan. Luckily for New York, the 49ers are down multiple cornerbacks, including Richard Sherman. Regardless, the Jets’ are extremely thin at wide receiver entering Week 2.

In other injury news, the Jets are expected to get back running back La’Mical Perine (ankle)  and linebacker Avery Williamson (hamstring). Both are practicing on Friday and should be ready to go for Sunday’s game.

Adam Gase loves that Braxton Berrios’ play doesn’t match his size

Adam Gase thinks Braxton Berrios is a competitor despite being one of the smallest players on the team.

Despite being one of the smallest players on the Jets’ roster, wide receiver Braxton Berrios plays like he’s one of the big guys.

Berrios stands at 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds. He’s tied with Javelin Guidry, Frank Gore and Jamison Crowder for the shortest players on the team. Berrios’ weight is tied for the fourth lightest on the roster. And yet, Adam Gase said that Berrios plays like a big receiver.

“He’s a competitor, man,” Gase said this week. “He plays like he’s 6-4, 230. He gets after it every day.”

Berrios isn’t afraid of taking a hit on the field. He’s the type of player who will make sure he can rack up extra yards before going out of bounds or to the ground. Berrios only had 115 receiving yards last season — he saw most of his action on special teams — but 87 of those yards were after the catch.

The 24-year-old could have an increased role on offense this season. New York is extremely thin at wide receiver due to injuries, so Berrios could see a lot of snaps there. He got jusrt 85 offensive snaps last season. Berrios is also more than likely going to be the Jets’ punt returner and he’s in competition with Ashtyn Davis at kick returner.

Obviously, the Jets like Berrios for his speed. He ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash at his Miami pro day. But he’s got other attributes that Gase and the Jets like, including his competitive fire.

We’ll see if that translates to more opportunities for Berrios in 2020.

Denzel Mims’ injury exposes a huge weakness in Jets roster

The Jets are woefully thin at wide receiver if one of their three starters goes down with an injury.

Denzel Mims isn’t expected to miss much time after suffering a hamstring injury early in training camp. But the second-round rookie’s injury – and the loss of valuable offseason practice reps – highlights just how woefully thin the Jets are at wide receiver.

Mims joined an already-shallow receiving group that featured Jamison Crowder and Breshad Perriman as the presumed starters. After those three, though, the Jets don’t really have any experienced or reliable receivers for Sam Darnold to throw to. If any of those three suffer a serious injury that forces them to miss time, the Jets will presumably look to Braxton Berrios or Vyncint Smith to pick up the slack. Yikes.

Berrios and Smith played admirably in limited roles late in 2019, but neither have the skillset to take over as a starting receiver. The Jets signed former first-round castoff Josh Doctson as an experienced reclamation project this offseason, but he opted out of the 2020 season because of concerns with the coronavirus pandemic. 

Further down the depth chart, the group looks even less formidable. There are journeymen Josh Malone, Jeff Smith and Jehu Chesson, and then undrafted free agents George Campbell and Lawrence Cager. Campbell and Cager have essentially a blank slate but come with a lot of injury concerns, while the three journeymen haven’t stayed in one place long for a reason.

The only saving grace is the return of tight end Chris Herndon and running back Le’Veon Bell. They have the experience and skillsets to be competent pass-catchers on offense, but it means the offense will focus less on passing plays to the outside and more on targets to the middle of the field. Keep in mind that Crowder, the slot man, is the most dependable of the starting receivers. That will lead to a much more predictable offense that defense can easily attack.

The fortunate right now is that Mims’ injury doesn’t appear series. The receiver “took a weird step and really stretched himself out” on a low throw, according to Adam Gase. 

Gase appeared unworried about when Mims will return, though he wasn’t definitive with a timeline.

“We’re just going to have to see how long it takes,” Gase said of Mims. “Obviously everybody reacts a little different when they’re coming back from these hamstring injuries and soft-tissue injuries.

“Every rep we have right now is extremely valuable. We’ll see the big picture of things. He’s going to spend a lot of time with [wide receivers coach] Shawn Jefferson, [assistant wide receivers coach] Hines Ward, myself, [offensive coordinator] Dowell Loggains… doing as many walk-throughs as he can.”

It will be hard to replace Mims if he’s out for longer than expected. The Jets would likely lean on their internal group of backups considering the lack of receivers in free agency and uncertainty of signing players during the pandemic. 

“It’s not like you can fly somebody in and have them on the field the next day,” Gase said. “There’s a pretty lengthy process you have to go through. You’re going to be waiting a minute.”

Paul Richardson and Taylor Gabriel are the best receivers in free agency, and bringing back Demaryius Thomas is also an option in a pinch.

Regardless of what happens, the Jets put a lot of their offensive eggs in the Mims-Crowder-Perriman basket. If one or more miss significant time – whether now or later in the season – it could spell trouble for the Jets, again.

4 remaining free agent wide receivers the Jets can bring in to address lack of depth

Jets Wire takes a look at four wide receivers the Jets can add to address their lack of depth at the position.

To say the Jets are thin at wide receiver would be an understatement.

Entering this week, New York’s depth at the position comprised of Vyncint Smith, Braxton Berrios, Josh Doctson and a handful of undrafted free agents — a relatively underwhelming group, to say the least. On Thursday, Doctson opted out of the 2020 season, compounding the issue further.

Fortunately for the Jets, there are still some decent free agent wide receivers available for the taking. There is not any star power left on the market, but a few wideouts who offer value. Unless general manager Joe Douglas wants to roll the dice on unproven players, that should be enough for him to strongly consider making a move.

If Douglas opts to add another wide receiver before Week 1, here are four potential targets that could address New York’s lack of depth.

Demaryius Thomas

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Bringing back Demaryius Thomas might be the Jets’ best option at this point in the offseason.

Thomas knows Adam Gase’s offense like the back of his hand and is familiar with the dynamic of New York’s locker room. Not only is Thomas a big-bodied receiver that has a rapport with Sam Darnold, but he was also a captain at one point last season. That is a testament to what he can bring as a mentor to the younger players in the wide receiver room.

It’s tough to learn an entirely new offense in a month’s time. Thomas would not have to endure the ups and downs that come along with adapting to a new scheme this late in the offseason. Joe Douglas might want to add some fresh blood, but with all things considered, re-signing Thomas would be the logical move.

6 players who benefited most from the Jets’ roster moves

The Jets lost a few starters to roster moves, but these players are in line for bigger roles on the team, now.

The Jets made a couple of big moves this week as they trimmed their roster down to 80 men before the beginning of training camp. 

Not only did starting inside linebacker C.J. Mosley opt out of the 2020 season because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, but New York also cut a couple of key contributors from the past few seasons. Among them were guard Brian Winters, wide receiver Quincy Enunwa and running back/return specialist Trenton Cannon.

The loss of those players opens up some opportunities for players to step in and assume bigger roles, or elevate some players’ value entering the 2020 season. With that being said, here are six Jets who benefitted the most from Gang Green’s recent string of transactions.

Avery Williamson

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

When Mosley opted out, Williamson immediately became more important to the Jets. He was once considered a likely cap casualty because of contract, age and an ACL injury that cost him the 2019 season, but now, Williamson is the de-facto leader of New York’s defense.

Williamson should be at the center of Gregg Williams’ defensive scheme in 2020. It won’t be the same role he played two years ago, but the Jets will need him to anchor the front-seven with Mosley out of the picture.

2020 New York Jets Position Preview: Special teams

Jets Wire breaks down New York’s specialists with training camp and the 2020 season approaching.

With training camp here, Jets Wire has been taking a close look at the makeup of the Jets’ roster entering the 2020 season. Last up is special teams.

While Brant Boyer’s unit has been one of the most reliable in the league for the past two seasons, New York didn’t exactly get much out of its kicking specialists last season. After Chandler Catanzaro abruptly retiring and the nightmare experiment that was Kaare Vedvik, the Jets finally landed on Sam Ficken after multiple workouts. Ficken was serviceable, but New York will need more reliability out of the kicking position in 2020. As for Lachlan Edwards, the Aussie punter was replaced this offseason.

Let’s break down the specialists at One Jets Drive.

The Starters

After the departure of long-term punter Edwards in free agency, Jets’ sixth-round pick Braden Mann enters the picture as the team’s lone punter.

Mann won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter in 2018. Over his last two seasons at Texas A&M, he netted a gross average of 51.0 and 47.1 yards per punt, respectively. Mann should have no problem making his presence felt. In addition to his punting duties, he will be New York’s kickoff specialist, according to Boyer.

Returning at long snapper is Thomas Hennessy, who has been one of New York’s more reliable special teamers since arriving via trade from Indianapolis in 2017.

Depth

Going through three kickers before the second week of the season, the Jets didn’t exactly nail down the position in 2019. Ficken was signed off the street and was unable to consistently make his kicks. He was average at best, making 19 of 27 field goals and missing three extra points.

That’s exactly why Joe Douglas brought in former Dallas Cowboys kicker Brett Maher as his competition. Maher is notorious for his big leg, but he’s not very accurate. He hit just 66.7 percent of his field goals in 2019 after making 80.7 percent the season before. After being waived midseason by the Cowboys, Maher appears to be the Jets’ latest kicking reclamation project coming over from Dallas.

Back deep for the Jets in 2020 should be some combo of Ashtyn Davis, Vyncint Smith and Braxton Berrios. Although it was a small sample size, Smith took full advantage of returning kicks for Gang Green in 2019. Smith’s 29.9 yards per kick return would have ranked second in the NFL, but the third-year wide receiver only returned 10 kicks — too few to qualify for league leaders. As for Berrios, he was one of the more reliable punt returners across the league last season . His 11.4 yards per punt return was second in the NFL.

George Campbell and Trenton Cannon could push as competition, but both are looked at as roster bubble players entering training camp.

Outlook

With Boyer in charge of the unit, the Jets should see continued success from their special teams in 2020. While Mann and Hennessy are locked in as starters, the kicking competition between Ficken and Maher should be a battle to watch over the duration of training camp.

If Smith’s and Berrios’ numbers from 2019 are any indication, they should be the favorites for the returns jobs.

See more from Jets Wire’s Position Previews series:

QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | MLB | OLB | CB | S

2020 New York Jets Position Preview: Wide Receiver

Jets Wire breaks down New York’s wide receiver room with training camp and the 2020 season approaching.

With the beginning of training camp less than two weeks away, it’s time to take a closer look at the makeup of the Jets’ roster entering the 2020 season.

The Jets lacked consistency at wide receiver in 2019. Jamison Crowder had sure hands in the slot but wasn’t consistently involved in the team’s passing attack from week to week. On the outside, Robby Anderson was the team’s No. 1 target with a propensity to make big plays, but he also disappeared at times. Opposite of Anderson, New York acquired Demaryius Thomas, but he wasn’t able to emulate his past success in Adam Gase’s offense and his age showed.

As training camp and the beginning of the regular season inch closer, Jets Wire will provide a look at each of New York’s position groups and what could be in store for the unit in 2020. Let’s breakdown the wide receiver room at One Jets Drive.

The Starters

New York didn’t do a lot to address the wide receiver room, but they did add some fresh faces to the room. Adding the likes of Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims could finally help Sam Darnold elevate his play to the next level during the 2020 season, but New York will be banking on a lot of potential from its outside wide receivers.

Between insufficient offensive line play and limited talented from premium skilled position players in his first two seasons, there’s now an opportunity for Darnold to start hitting on all cylinders. Perriman, a former first-round pick, will replace Anderson, as he possesses a nearly identical skillset. In 2019, Perriman was the second-highest graded wide receiver against man coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. His ability against man coverage should allow New York’s offense to maintain its deep threat.

For Mims, New York’s second-round pick out of Baylor, a lack of offseason workouts certainly stings. However, the rookie has the necessary skill set to be a No. 1 receiver. Mims will likely start opposite of Perriman; his physicality, athleticism and contested-catch ability make him the perfect complement.

Last, but certainly not least, is Darnold’s most-tenured returning starter, Crowder. Manning the slot for Gang Green in 2019, Crowder ran 70 percent of his offensive snaps out of the middle of the field, catching 58 balls from the slot. In the process, Crowder asserted himself as the team’s most sure-handed receiver, often helping the team move the chains in important situations. His continued rapport with Darnold will likely lead to more targets in 2020.

Depth

While New York addressed its needs at the starting receiver position, the team’s depth is still lacking. Vyncint Smith figures to be involved in some capacity in Gang Green’s offense. At the same time, he’s still very raw.

Beyond Smith is Braxton Berrios, who is mainly a special teamer. With his position on the field already manned by Crowder, it’ll be hard for him to crack the lineup. As for Josh Doctson, the potential is there for the former first-round pick, but he’s never been able to put it together.

Josh Malone, Jehu Chesson, Jeff Smith, Lawrence Cager and George Campbell round out the Jets’ wide receiver depth chart. In a regular offseason, each would have an equal chance of being a backend receiver on the roster. Instead, most will have to settle for a spot on New York’s expanded practice squad.

Outlook

Gang Green should be cautiously optimistic about the wide receiver position in 2020. Mims and Perriman have the potential to be playmakers, but other than a three-day minicamp set up by Darnold, they haven’t exactly been able to develop chemistry with their starting quarterback on the field.

Crowder and Darnold should pick up where they left off in 2019, but beyond that, the expectations should be tempered for the unit. The Jets don’t exactly have the necessary depth beyond their trio of starters. Smith and Berrios are nice complementary pieces, but there are doubts that either would be able to step into a starting role if necessary. The one thing missing from the fold is a veteran and while New York has had talks with Thomas about returning, his best days are certainly behind him.

The Jets have the players to improve the team’s passing attack in Gase’s second season, but they may be asking for trouble if they have to dive deep into their depth at the position.

See more from Jets Wire’s Position Previews series:

QB | RB

Jets wide receivers ranked among worst in NFL by Pro Football Focus

Pro Football Focus has the Jets wide receivers ranked 31st in the NFL.

The Jets’ wide receivers have been nothing to write home about for years now. Ask Pro Football Focus, and that trend will continue in 2020.

New York made an effort to improve its wide receivers this offseason, but it didn’t bring in anyone that will scare an opposing defense. The Jets signed Breshad Perriman and Josh Doctson and drafted Denzel Mims out of Baylor. They return Jamison Crowder, Josh Malone, Braxton Berrios, Vyncint Smith and Jeff Smith. Their former No. 1 wide receiver, Robby Anderson, signed with the Panthers.

Pro Football Focus analyzed the Jets’ receivers and ranked them 31st in the league out of 32 teams. Despite the low rank, Pro Football Focus sees some potential if Perriman improves upon his strong finish in Tampa Bay last season and Mims meets his expectations.

“There are plenty of question marks on paper, but the potential is there with this receiving corps if Perriman continues to progress and Mims’ size/speed profile translates quickly,” Pro Football Focus’s Steve Palazzolo said of Gang Green’s wideouts.

If these wide receivers are going to succeed in 2020, it’s going to be based on two things: offensive line and quarterback play. The Jets’ new offensive line has to give Sam Darnold a chance to make the necessary throws. Last season’s unit didn’t do that, allowing Jets quarterbacks to be sacked 52 times.

Darnold, meanwhile, needs to make significant strides in 2020, regardless of those around him. The fact that the Jets have upgraded his supporting cast should certainly help, though.

The receivers have to do their part too, though. This isn’t the most recognizable group, but, as PFF noted, there is some potential. If nothing else, a handful of unknowns will get plenty of opportunities to make an impact in 2020.