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December 7 wasn’t a great day in New York Jets land, from offensive tackle Max Mitchell’s rookie season ending unexpectedly to a flu outbreak in the locker room.
The one positive was the return of running back Michael Carter, who missed one game with a low-grade ankle sprain. The only question was whether or not he was still the starter with rookie Zonovan “Bam” Knight posting huge numbers the past two weeks.
According to head coach Robert Saleh, the situation may not be so black and white.
Jets’ Robert Saleh Backs Zonovan Knight Despite RB Health
During his press conference on December 7, Saleh spoke on Knight’s recent emergence and what Carter’s return could mean for this backfield going forward.
“Bam? What he’s shown is he’s got juice,” Saleh responded after a question on the undrafted prospect. “Like we’ve talked about [in the past], I think his GPS hit 4.39 in the game on that long run along the sideline, just pure gas.”
“This time of year where legs get heavy, [if] you’ve got a guy who can clock that on the GPS, it’s gonna show differently which I think it does,” the Jets HC continued. “He runs with a physical mindset, he’s hungry, he’s young, he runs violently, and when he turns the corner and he sticks his foot in the ground, it’s special.”
As for Knight’s playing time now that Carter has returned, Saleh’s comment was simple. “Oh yeah, he’s not going anywhere,” the Jets head honcho voiced with a smirk.
Knight has registered back-to-back 100-yard performances from scrimmage (rushing and receiving combined) in Weeks 12 and 13. Against the Vikings, he took 14 carries for a total of 69 rushing yards and added three receptions for 34 more.
In all fairness to Carter, he accomplished the same feat once as a rookie, from Week 7 to Week 8. He just snuck over 100 scrimmage yards during the first part of that two-game stretch against the New England Patriots, then followed that with a huge outing versus the Cincinnati Bengals (172 scrimmage yards).
Knight addressed the media after practice on Wednesday and ESPN’s Rich Cimini did share one funny note from the Q&A. “Bam Knight, who was RB1 last week, still has a locker in the temporary area used for practice-squad players. He has no desire to move,” Cimini tweeted, relaying: “Why mess with a good roll?”
Bam Knight Stole James Robinson’s Job
We discussed whether Knight or Carter will get the lion’s share of the carries in Week 14 but the truth is, both will play. The Jets have also already made it clear that they like Ty Johnson as their RB3, being that he plays a role on special teams.
That means trade acquisition James Robinson is most likely the odd man out at the moment.
Robinson was reportedly “frustrated” after the Jets decided to make him a healthy scratch against the Chicago Bears and you can bet that the newcomer won’t love the idea of an inactive streak down the stretch.
“Obviously, I didn’t come here not to play,” Robinson told Cimini in late November. “Obviously, they brought me here for a reason. I don’t expect anything unless I work for it, and I’ve been working my a** off. Me not playing pisses me off.”
You have to appreciate the fire from Robinson off the field but the problem is, fans have yet to see that player on it. With Gang Green, the former Jacksonville Jaguars RB1 has averaged a pitiful 2.9 yards per carry. Knight is moving the chains at an impressive 5.5-yard clip.
For Saleh, there’s no comparison, and there’s one more silver lining to not using Robinson. When the Jets made this deal with the Jags, there was some fine print attached. ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided the compensation update, stating: “The conditional 6th-round pick that the Jets traded to the Jaguars for James Robinson will become a 5th-round pick if the RB rushes for 600 yards this season, per source. Robinson already has rushed for 340 yards and needs 260 more for the 6th to be a 5th.”
At the time, 260 yards felt like a sure thing for Jets fans — and it probably felt like that for the Jacksonville front office as well — but general manager Joe Douglas must be grinning somewhere right now because he was very wise to include this stipulation.
Robinson currently has 85 yards with the Jets and there’s a real chance that he doesn’t get much usage the rest of the way, barring injury. Sure, this trade may go down as a bust move for a half-year rental when all is said and done, but at least it only cost Gang Green a sixth-round selection.
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