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After a long bye week, it feels like New York Jets football is slowly coming back to life ahead of a crucial divisional game on the road this coming Sunday.
Head coach Robert Saleh spoke with the media for the first time in about a week on November 14 and he provided an update on various injuries. As expected, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins was officially ruled out against the New England Patriots.
The Jets have yet to address the Rankins injury with a roster move, which could mean a gameday elevation of Jonathan Marshall or Tanzel Smart in Week 11 — or a shift inside for starting defensive end John Franklin-Myers. Gang Green did attempt to claim DT Jerry Tillery off waivers but were beaten to the punch by Las Vegas.
Saleh also noted that wide receiver Corey Davis is still day-to-day before going into detail on a hot-and-cold status report at offensive tackle.
Max Mitchell Returns to Practice, George Fant MIA
Saleh revealed some good news and bad news at offensive tackle. Starting with the positive, the Jets did commit to opening the 21-day practice window of rookie right tackle Max Mitchell.
That means New York has a full 21 days to activate the blocker off the injured reserve. If they fail to do so by the end of the window, Mitchell will be lost for the remainder of the season on IR.
Barring an extreme setback, that pretty much never happens so you can expect that Mitchell will most likely return before Week 14 — if not sooner. Having said that, a safe bet would be that it’s probably going to be Week 12 or 13, not this weekend against the Pats.
On the flip side, Saleh relayed that veteran George Fant “will not practice this week,” putting him in the Rankins category. This one is troubling, and Jets fans already have their theories about what’s going on with Fant.
For now, I’ll just quote WFAN radio personality Joe Benigno in joking that it appears last season’s starting left tackle has joined the witness protection program. Don’t count on him returning anytime soon.
Around the NFL: Steelers Release Hamilcar Rashed Jr.
Switching over to the rest of the league, NFL reporter Aaron Wilson just shared news of an ex-Jets’ release. The Pittsburgh Steelers have apparently parted ways with popular training camp darling Hamilcar Rashed Jr., a pass rusher out of Oregon State.
An undrafted free agent in 2021, Rashed has only appeared in one NFL game and it came last season with the Jets against Buffalo. He logged 16 defensive snaps and two on special teams, registering one tackle assist.
The edge rusher prospect has flashed during his two preseasons but faced an uphill battle this year after the Jets bulked up at the defensive end position. After trading DE Jacob Martin and losing former draft pick Jabari Zuniga, it’s possible that general manager Joe Douglas could look to reunite with Rashed on a practice squad deal.
Bradlee Anae is the only D-end remaining on the Jets practice squad, although they do have a healthy amount of pass rushers on the 53-man roster and Rashed has dealt with injuries in 2022.
Steelers Now contributor Alan Saunders voiced that Pittsburgh decided to cut Rashed because he was “healthy enough to come off the practice squad injured reserve list” and they didn’t have enough room to keep him around.
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