A positive update on the injury front for the New York Jets.
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY revealed on “Jets Final Drive” that the target date for injured running back Isaiah Davis to return is Week 1.
Davis hurt his knee at the beginning of August. At the time, head coach Aaron Glenn said he was set to miss “maybe a couple of weeks.”
Davis, 24, entered the league as the No. 173 overall pick in fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft.
A Huge Sigh of Relief
The top of the Jets’ depth chart at running back has fallen on hard times.
Breece Hall tweaked his groin and is set to miss multiple weeks. Davis got hurt and is missing multiple weeks. That is two of the top three running backs on the Jets’ RB depth chart.
With Hall and Davis on the shelf, Braelon Allen has assumed the leading role. In the preseason contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Allen got the starting nod.
However, after the opening drive of the game, head coach Aaron Glenn immediately pulled Allen from the game. That was likely a precautionary move considering the injuries to the rest of the guys in the room. He didn’t want to risk anything.
Likely Going to Be a Running Back by Committee to Start the Year
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY stated that Hall will be the “featured back” for the Jets in 2026. That makes sense because the Jets just handsomely rewarded him with a long-term deal.
It would be foolish for the Jets to invest that level of premium resource and not use him as the main straw that stirs the drink.
However, with Hall and Davis coming back from injuries, the Jets will likely not go crazy with their usage at the beginning of the year. If you’re the Jets, you don’t want to risk the chance of an aggravated injury.
So how can the Jets mitigate that possibility? Utilize a running back by committee. Once you feel confident that Hall is fully recovered from his injury issues, then you can put a larger workload on his shoulders.
Jets Garner Some Respect in National Rankings
ESPN’s Mike Clay recently ranked the best and worst positional units in the NFL.
The Jets placed No. 13 among the best backfields in the league. That’s a few slots outside the top-10 and a few slots above average. There are massive expectations on this group to be the focal point of the offense in 2026.
For Hall in particular, can he build off of the 2025 campaign? He set a new career high in rushing yards and earned his fat contract extension. Is there another level to his game?
Clearly the Jets think so, or they wouldn’t have extended him. A big misconception about contract extensions is that it’s about what you can do in the future, not what you did in the past.
The Jets will have to be careful with this soft tissue injury with Hall. They don’t want this problem to linger into the season.
Jets Get Great News on Injured Playmaker Return Timeline