The New York Jets will be without multiple starters for their first road trip of the season.
Head coach Aaron Glenn provided the final injury report ahead of the Week 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers game.
“Josh Reynolds will be out, Kene [Nwangwu] will be out, Jay Tufele will be out, and Jermaine Johnson will be out,” Glenn told the media on Friday, September 19.
Reynolds is one of the starting wideouts, Johnson is a starting pass rusher, and Nwangwu was the lead return man for the green and white.
This will be Reynolds’ second straight missed game due to a hamstring injury. Nwangwu is also dealing with a hamstring that held him out of the Buffalo Bills game. This will be Johnson’s first missed game of the season.
Good News and Bad News on the Jets-Johnson Situation
The bad news is Johnson won’t be available for this game. The good news is that the injury isn’t what some people thought it was.
When the former Florida State product popped up on the injury report with an “ankle” issue, it raised eyebrows. Johnson is coming off a torn Achilles that cost him 15 games last season.
He took to social media and cryptically posted three prayer emojis, “🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾” which caused some panic on X previously Twitter.
Glenn confirmed on Friday, September 19, that Johnson didn’t hurt the leg that blew out the Achilles; instead, it was just “an ankle sprain.”
It will stink for the Jets to not have Johnson this week, but that is a promising sign for his future return to the field.
“Thank God😮💨… y’all have no idea lol 🙏🏾,” Johnson posted on social media.
This Injury Will Force the Jets to Play an Unpopular Player
With Johnson unavailable, the Jets are likely going to turn to Micheal Clemons to start opposite Will McDonald at defensive end.
According to TruMedia, from 2022-25 the Jets have a better sack rate (9.35 percent), pressure rate (39.6 percent) and are better on third down (36.8 percent) with Clemons off the field than when he’s on it — when the sack rate (6.6 percent), pressure rate (32.8 percent) and third down conversions (41.8 percent) all get worse. Through two games, the Jets allow 5.2 yards per rush when Clemons is on the field, and 3.2 yards per carry when he’s off it,” Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed.
Those warts will only get worse with more playing time. The Jets have no one to blame but themselves for the lack of depth at defensive end.
This was a clear problem this offseason, and the Jets refused to address the position. Gang Green must lie in the bed they created for themselves.
Glenn Refuses to Give Specifics on Mysterious Illness Affecting Jets Depth Player
Jay Tufele, a Jets defensive tackle, has missed the last two weeks of action with an undisclosed illness.
On Friday, Coach Glenn was asked to share some details on this mysterious situation.
“No, I won’t do that. It is just an illness. We expect him back real soon,” Glenn shared.
Jets Receive Crushing Injury News Before Bucs Game