Last year the New York Jets season was mired with critical injuries across the board.
Now heading into voluntary OTAs it appears the green and white are dealing with another injury to a brand new weapon.
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Something to Monitor
There isn’t a lot of action happening during offseason training activities with the Jets ramping things back.
However, the main thing to always watch is injuries and unfortunately Gang Green is monitoring a big one.
Connor Hughes of The Athletic revealed that tight end CJ Uzomah “didn’t practice on Wednesday” and instead rode the stationary bike.
The good news is the injury isn’t considered serious and the Jets are simply playing things cautiously with this being the voluntary portion of the offseason.
C.J. Uzomah, who worked on the side at practice today, is not seriously injured, sources tell @TheAthletic. It’s nothing to worry about. He’ll be fine moving forward. No point in risking anything during voluntary workouts.
Uzomah originally joined the Jets back on March 17 during free agency. The 29-year-old signed a three-year deal that has a value worth more than $24 million.
During his first seven years in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, the veteran tight end struggled to stay on the field.
Uzomah has played in only 79 out of 113 possible contests due to a myriad of injuries. While this current issue doesn’t appear to be serious in any way, based on his history this is definitely something to monitor.
Thank Goodness That Worked Out
During the build-up to free agency and the 2022 NFL draft, there were a lot of names that were connected to the Jets on social media.
It wasn’t unusual to hear the likes of Mike Gesicki, Dalton Schultz, or even David Njoku. However, none of those players ended up making it on the open market thanks to the franchise tag.
While it seemed like a total bummer at the time, it actually looks like it’ll be a blessing in disguise.
Any one of those players would’ve commanded a top-of-the-market contract that would’ve likely limited what else the Jets could’ve done in free agency.
Since none of those options were available, Gang Green pivoted to a multi-pronged approach instead. The Jets ended up signing and drafting multiple tight ends instead of simply chasing one big fish.
With the green and white’s recent history with injuries, they’re now more prepared for an injury situation because they have multiple options to turn to.
Back on April 21 general manager, Joe Douglas quoted his former mentor Ozzie Newsome saying, “a luxury today can be a necessity tomorrow.”
#Jets GM Joe Douglas quoted his former #Ravens mentor Ozzie Newsome to answer @Connor_J_Hughes’ question about BPA (best player available) in the #NFLDraft, ‘a luxury today can be a necessity tomorrow’ 🧐: 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight #NFL #RavensFlock
That is very much the case at tight end with the Jets also investing over $21 million into Tyler Conklin and drafting Jeremy Ruckert out of Ohio State with the No. 101 overall pick in the third round.
If Uzomah’s injury is serious, no sweat for the Jets who are legitimately three deep at the position. The same can be said for a variety of other positions on the team and this is a luxury Gang Green certainly isn’t used to.
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Jets $24 Million Weapon Gets Injured at Practice: Report