Training camp got off to a rocky start on Wednesday, July 28 for the New York Jets.
On one hand, the green and white remain the only team in the entire NFL that has yet to sign their first-round draft pick (Zach Wilson).
The only other player that was waiting was Trey Lance of the San Francisco 49ers, but they got his deal done before the first practice got underway.
Although beyond that, Gang Green is also dealing with some injuries on the very first day of camp.
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Trouble in Paradise
It’s common practice for head coaches in the NFL at the start of a media opportunity to run through any new information on the medical/injury front.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh continued this tradition on Wednesday morning with a few surprising notes:
“These are conservative numbers but we are expecting at the latest Week 2 of the regular season for safety Ashtyn Davis, defensive lineman Vinny Curry to return.”
Vinny Curry, a 10-year NFL veteran, was expected to compete for the starting gig opposite of Carl Lawson this offseason. Now there’s a very strong chance he isn’t going to be ready for the start of the regular season.
While on the opposite side of the career spectrum, Ashtyn Davis is entering just his second year in the pros and has once again been hampered by the injury bug.
The former Cal product is still recovering and rehabbing from offseason foot surgery. While he wasn’t expected to claim a starting job with Marcus Maye and Lamarcus Joyner in the fold, Davis did have a chance to carve out a pretty significant role in this defense.
This is another tough blow for a former third-rounder (No. 68 overall) who has a ton of athletic traits but needs reps to find his groove in this new defense.
Some Other Injury Updates From Jets Camp Day 1
A pair of defensive linemen in Kyle Phillips and Quinnen Williams isn’t expected to be back with the team until the second week of the preseason vs the Green Bay Packers, per the head coach.
Saleh said that the team wants to have a “slower approach” so they make sure “this doesn’t happen to the other foot” for Williams.
He said he “still isn’t concerned at all” about him and said he looked good out there. The team is “confident” when he gets out there “he will hit the ground running.”
Williams is clearly the straw that will hopefully stir this drink for the Jets defense in 2021. If he’s firing on all cylinders that opens everything else up for defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
While for Phillips, this is a devastating blow for his chances to make the final 53-man roster. It’s been well documented that this Jets’ defensive line is the deepest positional group on the roster.
With every single rep, it would be difficult to crack this group. Missing valuable time because of injury? That could prove to be a death nail in the former Tennessee Volunteer’s chances of making this roster.
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Jets Rule out Several Defenders for Foreseeable Future