After getting a somewhat clean bill of health on Wednesday, the Jets received some blows on Thursday’s injury report.
Safety Marcus Maye, who was already dealing with a calf injury, did not participate in Thursday’s practice with a new ankle injury. Although Maye had a fantastic training camp in which he stepped up into a new role, his status for Sunday’s game is now up in the air.
Rookie wide receiver Denzel Mims, who was a full participant on Wednesday, was downgraded to limited. Mims’ hamstring injury is now listed plurally as “hamstrings.” Needless to say, this development jeopardizes Mims’ chances of making his debut on Sunday.
As for Avery Williamson, the veteran linebacker was held out of practice with a hamstring injury. The Jets added Alec Ogletree to their practice squad as Williamson deals with yet another injury.
Tarell Basham (ankle), Joe Flacco (neck) and Alex Lewis (shoulder) were also limited on Thursday. Flacco is not expected to be ready to go for Week 1 as he works his way back from offseason neck surgery, but both Basham and Lewis are expected to be ready to go for Sunday’s game.
Receivers Jamison Crowder (hamstring) and Breshad Perriman (knee) were both full participants on Thursday while running back Frank Gore enjoyed a veteran rest day.
La’Mical Perine’s prospects of making his NFL debut against the Bills on Sunday are not looking too good.
New York’s rookie running back missed practice on Wednesday due to an ankle injury that has been bothering him for over a week. The injury is not considered to be serious, but Perine’s status for Week 1 is in jeopardy at this point. In the event Perine cannot suit up this weekend, Josh Adams will likely be called up from the practice squad to take his place.
Tarell Basham, Joe Flacco, Alex Lewis, Marcus Maye and Avery Williamson were also limited on Wednesday. Flacco is not expected to be ready to go for Week 1 as he works his way back from offseason neck surgery, but Basham, Lewis, Maye and Williamson should be ready to go for Sunday. Assuming Flacco can’t play this weekend, David Fales or Mike White will be called up from the practice squad to serve as Sam Darnold’s backup.
Every other player on New York’s 53-man roster was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, including Denzel Mims and Breshad Perriman. This is an encouraging development for the Jets, as both players have been plagued by injuries throughout training camp. Mims missed significant time with a hamstring injury, while a barking knee kept Perriman out of action for a couple of weeks.
With Mims and Perriman back and full participants in practice, New York’s starting wide receiver is once again complete, giving Darnold his top three weapons to work with when he takes the field for the first time in 2020 on Sunday.
The Jets re-signed David Fales and Mike White to the practice squad, but only one of them will backup Sam Darnold.
The Jets have a decision to make on who Sam Darnold’s backup will be Week 1 in Buffalo.
New York re-signed quarterbacks David Fales and Mike White to the practice squad Sunday. However, only one of them will be promoted to the gameday roster next Sunday against the Bills.
The Jets have three active quarterbacks at the moment: Sam Darnold, Joe Flacco and James Morgan. Darnold is obviously the starting quarterback, while Flacco is injured. He’ll be back from injury in a few weeks, so the Jets decided to keep him on the active roster. Morgan is just a rookie with no NFL games under his belt, so the Jets want him to get some experience on the sideline before entering a game.
With new practice squad and roster rules, however, the Jets can promote a quarterback for any games that Flacco misses. More likely than not, it will be Fales who gets promoted to the active roster. He spent the majority of the 2019 season as Darnold’s backup but didn’t see any game action. Fales is familiar with the offensive system that Adan Gase runs, as he’s been with the coach throughout his NFL career.
White had a solid training camp this summer, but the Jets need someone who has some NFL experience to backup Darnold. White has yet to appear in a regular season game since being drafted in 2018 by the Cowboys.
Jets quarterback Joe Flacco made the active roster, but David Fales was cut.
Even though Joe Flacco will not ready for the start of the regular season, he still made the Jets’ active roster.
Flacco is coming off neck surgery that kept him out all of Jets training camp. The expectation is that he’ll be ready for contact in a couple of weeks and he’ll only miss the first few games of the regular season.
The Jets were put in a tricky situation with Flacco. It was either place him on the PUP list, which would’ve kept him out for six weeks, or put him on the 53-man roster. New York went with the latter because it does not expect Flacco to be out too long.
With Flacco unable to backup Sam Darnold for the first few games, James Morgan will be the No. 2 quarterback. It comes as a surprise that the won the backup job over David Fales, who was cut. The Jets also cut QB Mike White.
The Jets can retain Fales or White on their practice squad if they clear waivers and promote a quarterback for any games Flacco misses.
Adam Gase has always had a soft spot for Fales because the quarterback knows his playbook well. However, Fales doesn’t have a whole lot of on-field experience and hasn’t played well in the limited looks he’s gotten. Fales has played in a total of three games since entering the league in 2014.
You’re probably all on top of the latest news surrounding the Buffalo Bills and we hope Bills Wire helped you get there. But let us keep you up to date with the Bills news, just outside the Bills’ realm.
The upcoming 2020 NFL season has many thinking the Bills are the favorite in the AFC East. But Buffalo isn’t just going to stroll into that title. The Dolphins, Jets, and of course the Patriots, will all have something to say about that.
So let’s stay on top of some of the latest headlines surrounding the Bills’ divisional foes now. Here are 12 news stories from the other three AFC East teams from the last week right here:
The biggest news from across the NFL last week were opt outs. Those came to a fever pitch on Thursday as the deadline for players deciding to do so came and went. Prior to that 4 p.m. mark, we already knew the Patriots had a lot of players deciding not to suit up. But eventually, we saw at least one player from every team in the AFC East decide not to play.
So let’s get right to it, the full list of opt outs from the AFC East:
The Jets will be allowed to keep six players on their practice squad from signing with other teams this season.
The practice squad is a lot more important in 2020.
Because of the uncertain ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, any player could be knocked out for a considerable amount of time, meaning teams would have to scramble to find replacements. Typically, teams look to free agency or trades to fill gaps, but they can also sign players off another team’s practice squad if they deem him talented enough for their roster.
But with the uncertainty of how, when or whom the virus will affect, the NFL and NFLPA agreed that teams can protect up to four practice squad players each week from poaching, according to The Washington Post’s Mark Maske. Not only that, but teams can also now add 16 players to the practice squad – up from 10 this past season – and six players can have an unlimited number of accrued seasons, according to The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones.
So when the Jets look at their protected players, they’ll need to identify two attributes: Which players are the most talented/have the most potential and which players play a position the Jets may need a contingency plan for injuries strike. Ideally, all four players would accomplish both goals for the Jets, but that’s a tall order to fill with a limited number of protected spots.
With these new rules in mind, let’s take a look at six candidates for the protected practice squad status.
(Adam Hunger-AP)
QB David Fales
We’ve already talked about how Fales is the Jets’ best quarantine quarterback option, so it only makes sense he should be considered for the protected player slot. If anything happens to Sam Darnold this season, the Jets need an immediate quarterback available to play. Currently, they don’t have that behind Darnold. Joe Flacco won’t be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from injury and rookie James Morgan is still a work in progress.
While Fales isn’t a great option as an emergency quarterback, he does have experience in Adam Gase’s system and would be able to start in a pinch if the Jets lose Darnold for whatever reason. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it would be better than nothing.
Jets quarterback Joe Flacco is on track to return early in 2020 from offseason surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck.
Jets quarterback Joe Flacco got good news Thursday when he went to see a specialist in Philadelphia for an update on his recovery from neck surgery.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, all is well with Flacco’s neck and he could be back on the field soon. The 35-year-old is on track to miss only one or two games. He has his final checkup in early September, but Flacco has made significant progress since undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disk in April.
Flacco signed with the Jets in May on a one-year, $1.5 million deal to serve as Sam Darnold’s backup and mentor. His decision to undergo surgery was one he wrestled with on a daily basis, as he was not sure he wanted to continue his playing career. After deep contemplation, Flacco ultimately opted for surgery and another go around in the NFL with New York.
“My mind was just all over the place, even a couple of months into the offseason,” Flacco said in an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio after signing with the Jets. “I was kind of going crazy about the whole thing. The fact that I finally got [the surgery] done and put all that behind me, I can move forward and look forward to football.”
Although he is nearing a return, Flacco will still be out for the Jets’ season opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 13 and possibly another week or two after that. It is unlikely that he will be cleared for contact at any point in training camp and will likely be relegated to light, non-contact work for the next month.
With Flacco on the shelf, David Fales and rookie James Morgan have assumed backup duties behind Darnold.
The Jets have placed three players on the PUP list and one player on the NFI list.
The New York Jets have a handful of players who are not ready for training camp just yet.
The team announced Thursday that placed QB Joe Flacco (neck), TE Ryan Griffin (ankle rehab) and LB Avery Williamson (ACL rehab) on the Physically Unable to Perform list. The Jets also placed TE Daniel Brown on the Non-Football Injury list.
Of the three players placed on the PUP list, Flacco is the only one not expected to be ready for the start of the regular season. He got offseason neck surgery and probably will not be able to hit the practice field until September. Flacco signed a one-year deal with the Jets worth $1.5 million this offseason.
Griffin injured his ankle in Week 14 last season against the Dolphins and was placed on injured reserve. Griffin received a three-year extension worth $10.8 million before the injury, though. He and Chris Herndon are projected to be the two starting tight ends for the Jets in 2020.
Williamson is coming off a torn ACL that he suffered last preseason. He should be in the mix for the starting linebacker job alongside C.J. Mosley.
As for Brown, he re-signed with the Jets on a one-year deal in February.
Jets Wire breaks down New York’s quarterback 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.
Gang Green’s 2019 campaign essentially went off the rails when QB Sam Darnold contracted mononucleosis. Backups Trevor Siemian and Luke Falk were thrown into the fire, effectively exposing the Jets’ lack of depth under center.
As training camp and the beginning of the regular season inch closer, Jets Wire will be providing an in-depth look at each of New York’s position groups and what could be in store for the unit in 2020. Let’s kick things off with a breakdown of the gunslinger situation at One Jets Drive.
The Starter
Thanks to the upgrades the Jets made to their offensive line this offseason and a couple of new additions at wide receiver, 2020 could be the year Sam Darnold finally comes into his own as New York’s starting quarterback.
Insufficient pass protection and an underwhelming group of wide receivers plagued Darnold’s first two seasons as a starter in the NFL. Fortunately for Darnold and the Jets, general manager Joe Douglas did his best to rebuild the offensive line and give Darnold two new viable weapons in speedster Breshad Perriman and rookie Denzel Mims.
New York will go as Darnold goes in 2020. If the third-year signal-caller plays well, the Jets will be in the hunt for a wild card spot and maybe even the AFC East title. If not, it will be back to the drawing board at season’s end.
Depth
Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
If Darnold succumbs to injury or illness in 2020, the Jets will not be left out in the cold as they were last season thanks to an improved quarterback room.
Veteran Joe Flacco is in as New York’s No. 2 quarterback. He won’t be ready for Week 1 due to offseason neck surgery, but the former Super Bowl MVP gives the Jets a reliable backup once he is 100 percent healthy and a potentially valuable mentor for Darnold.
Behind Flacco are David Fales, rookie James Morgan and Mike White. Fales is familiar with Adam Gase’s offense, but the Jets drafted Morgan for a reason. The 29-year-old Fales is all but a lock to break camp with the team while Morgan marinates on the sideline, but once Flacco returns to the field, Fales’ time in New York will likely end. White is nothing more than a training camp body and is not a serious threat to make Gang Green’s 53-man roster.
Outlook
Darnold is potentially in store for a breakout 2020 season. He will finally be able to stand in the pocket and go through his reads playing behind a decent enough offensive line and has an assortment of weapons to work with in a solid wide receiver trio, the two-headed monster of Ryan Griffin and Chris Herndon at tight end, and Le’Veon Bell out of the backfield.
With that being said, the Jets need those hopes to come to fruition if they want to contend this upcoming season. Darnold does not have to magically develop into a worldbeater, but he has to play well enough to convert close losses into wins. If that does not happen, 2020 stands to be another disappointing year — and one that could force the Jets to reconsider Darnold’s future in the Big Apple.
Jets Wire breaks down four ways the Jets will be impacted by a canceled 2020 season.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still in full swing, there is a chance the Jets do not take the field in 2020.
Although the NFL is moving toward re-opening team facilities in preparation for the upcoming season, there are still major questions about the league’s ability to play this Fall. According to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci, the NFL would have to emulate a “bubble” format similar to what the MLS and NBA have discussed in order to play in 2020.
“Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” Fauci told CNN. “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”
NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills acknowledged Fauci’s comments and said the league is working toward addressing issues to mitigate health risks, but that is far from a guarantee that football will be a go come September. The same goes for playing a full season.
So, what would a canceled 2020 season mean for the Jets? Here are some ways New York *could* be impacted if Fauci’s concerns come to fruition.
Christopher Johnson’s final days running the show?
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Even if football is played this Fall, Christopher Johnson’s days running the Jets could be numbered.
Woody Johnson’s term as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom is set to end at the end of 2020. Assuming he decides not to take on another term or if Donald Trump loses November’s presidential election, Johnson will return to the States full time and will likely reassume control of the team he bought in 2000.
This means that Christopher will likely return to a secondary role in the organization. It will be interesting to see how the transition goes, as Christopher endeared himself to the players throughout his tenure as CEO — especially in light of recent social and racial injustices in America. Either way, there is a chance Christopher’s time in the spotlight could be over once football returns.
