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The New York Jets’ fears were realized this week.
Adam Schefter of ESPN shared on Twitter that “further testing confirmed” that veteran safety Chuck Clark suffered a “season-ending torn ACL during practice earlier this month.”
Gang Green initially feared that was the injury, but Clark and the team sought additional medical opinions to confirm.
Jets Will Have to Move on With Its Safety Room in 2023
Gang Green acquired Clark in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens on March 15. The Jets sent a 2024 seventh-round pick in exchange for the veteran defensive back.
He was projected to start alongside fellow veteran Jordan Whitehead at the two safety spots. However, this injury news will prevent that from transpiring in 2023.
Prior to this announcement from Schefter on Thursday, June 22, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic provided a spark of hope.
On “The Can’t-Wait Podcast” on June 14, Rosenblatt said if the Jets made a playoff run there is the potential that Clark could possibly return to the field for the Jets. It’s unclear if that remains the case after this injury news.
“According to a 2019 study published in the National Library of Medicine, the average time between ACL tear and return to play among NFL players was almost 50 weeks.”
However, there have been cases where players have been able to return to the gridiron sooner than that projected timeline.
For instance, former Clemson Tigers wide receiver Amari Rodgers tore his ACL on March 25, 2019, and was able to return in “less than six months”, according to Bill Huber of Packer Central.
The more than likely story is Clark is out for the 2023 season and he will be a full-go for 2024 if everything goes right.
The former Virginia Tech product is entering the last year of his $15.3 million contract in 2023. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
Adrian Amos Has a Lot to Live up to for Jets
Clark never got a chance to play a down for the Jets in 2023 due to his offseason injury. Despite that, expectations were high for the veteran coming in.
The former Ravens’ safety was on a 1,248 consecutive snap streak spanning across two-plus NFL seasons. In his six-year career, Clark appeared in 94 out of 96 possible games. He was expected to bring that experience and reliability to the Jets.
Now that task falls at the feet of Adrian Amos who was signed to a one-year deal with a maximum value of $4 million.
The initial belief was Amos would join a talented safety room that featured Whitehead and Clark to provide invaluable depth. However, the thought process completely changed when the Clark injury news was revealed just a few hours later.
Amos was now set to replace Clark, not join him in the secondary.
Amos is coming off a down year with the Green Bay Packers. There were significant drop-offs in nearly every major category according to Pro Football Focus from 2021 to 2022.
- 53.4 overall
- 69.7 run defense
- 60.7 pass rush
- 45.6 coverage
- 74.7 overall
- 77.2 run defense
- 60.9 pass rush
- 74.1 coverage
Is that a player at 30 years of age who is falling off of a cliff? Or is that a player who just had an off-year? The Jets are certainly hoping and betting that it’s the latter.
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