The New York Jets got delivered some bad news on Friday, October 30.
Head coach Aaron Glenn revealed that David Bailey “will not practice today, but he will be doubtful when it comes to the game. We’re going to look at that as more of a game-time decision.”
Bailey hasn’t practiced in any capacity throughout the entire week, and he’s dealing with a groin issue. The chances of him playing are slim to none. It wouldn’t make any sense for the Jets to throw him out there with a chance to make this injury worse.
That puts the team in quite a bind heading into the Week 8 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed which pass rushers the Jets will have available if Bailey is unable to suit up:
- Kingsley Enagbare
- Will McDonald
- Nate Lynn
- Nathan Voorhis (practice squad)
- Paschal Ekeji (practice squad)
Jets Pass Rush Issues Could Bleed
The green and white went an entire season without recording an interception last year. A big reason for that was that they were 31st in sacks (26).
The Jets are fourth in the league in sacks as a team (19), per ESPN. However, they are likely to be down their top rusher. Bailey is fourth in the league in sacks with 5.5 as an individual.
According to Pro Football Reference, Bailey has appeared in 81% of the defensive snaps so far this season. The Jets will have to creatively distribute those snaps to the rest of the bodies that they have available.
Here are the sack totals for the edge defenders that are expected to be available in this game:
- Enagbare (2.5)
- McDonald (2)
- Lynn (1)
Without Bailey, the Jets are struggling to consistently rush the passer. They’re also struggling in run defense.
“Since Week 3, the Jets are allowing 153 yards per game, which ranks 31st in the NFL,” according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
Rest of the Injury Report
The Jets are likely to be down Bailey, and they will also be down nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Glenn ruled him out on Friday, October 30.
Other players who were ruled out by Glenn: pass rusher Joseph Ossai and offensive lineman Max Mitchell.
Two players who will be limited during Friday’s practice include running back Breece Hall and offensive lineman Dylan Parham.
Brian Costello of the New York Post asked Glenn a follow-up question about why Hall has been limited in practice. He explained that most players are limited and they eventually bump up to a full practice and asked why that hasn’t happened for Hall?
“Yeah, well, the thing is that we want to make sure, I mean, he is a key cog in what we’re doing, and each time he goes out there, there are certain points that he has to hit to make sure that we’re all good, and we want to make sure he hits those points,” Glenn responded.
So until Hall hits those milestones, we won’t see him back in a game.
Jets in Desperate Situation After Bad David Bailey News