Getty Ex-Philadelphia Eagles safety Eilijah Riley intercepting a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL game.
The NFL is a weekly battle between two football teams slugging it out in an attempt to determine who is the better club. It is also just as much a battle of attrition.
With 53 man rosters in a brand new 17-week schedule across 18 weeks, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when bodies are going to start falling to the canvas.
The New York Jets are no different and have fallen victim to this devastating game with two key losses.
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2 Critical Losses on Both Sides of the Ball
On Thursday Night Football during a routine play Jets’ safety Marcus Maye backpedaled and his leg gave out. He suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and just like that his 2021 season was over.
Pretty classic Achilles tendon tear for #MarcusMaye. Even looked back to see who kicked him. Patients often swear to me that someone did.
The former Florida Gator was playing on the franchise tag this year and it certainly seems like he has played his final snap with the Jets.
According to Lower Extremity Review Magazine, it typically takes football players 11 months to return from this type of injury. With that in mind, it appears that Maye will be forced to miss at the very least some portion of the 2022 season.
In that same game against the Colts, the Jets also lost their veteran tight end, Tyler Kroft. He suffered a chest injury. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the 29-year old is expected to miss about a month of action.
Gang Green swung and missed at the tight end position this offseason, but Kroft certainly had pops this season.
He played in six games and started four of those. In those contests, he caught 10 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.
The Jets ended up placing both of these players on injured reserve. Maye’s season is over, but there’s a chance Kroft can return later in the year, he will have to miss a minimum of the next three games before he can return.
A Hidden Gem From an Old Pipeline
In a corresponding roster move, the Jets stole safety Elijah Riley off of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.
Gang Green has been hurting in a major way on the backend of their defense with Maye’s injury, Lamarcus Joyner, and Zane Lewis each being lost for the entirety of the 2021 season. That left the Jets desperate for answers to fill the void at safety for the final nine games of the year.
The former Army product went undrafted following the 2020 campaign and quickly found a home with the Eagles. He was waived right ahead of final roster cuts but was brought back on the practice squad a few days later.
Last season he was elevated on three separate occasions but only played in a handful of special teams snaps. The same thing happened this year where he was cut right before the final 53 and re-signed to the practice squad.
This is a coming home of sorts for Riley who is a New York local. He attended Newfield High School in Long Island.
General manager Joe Douglas has strong ties to the Philadelphia Eagles organization and won a Super Bowl there back in 2018.
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Jets Place Pair of Key Veterans on IR, Steal Versatile Safety From Eagles