The Jets will be shorthanded in Sunday’s matchup against the Buccaneers.
Pass rusher Jermaine Johnson and wide receiver Josh Reynolds were both ruled out against Tampa Bay by coach Aaron Glenn on Friday morning.
Johnson suffered a sprained ankle injury in Sunday’s game against the Bills and missed practice all week. The injury, according to Glenn, is not the same ankle in which he tore his Achilles tendon last year and missed the final 15 games of the 2024 season.
Reynolds also missed last weekend’s loss to the Bills due to a hamstring injury. The Jets will also be without defensive tackle Jay Tufele (illness) and Kene Nwangwu (hamstring) after Glenn also ruled both of them out.
With no Johnson this weekend, that will likely mean a lot of Micheal Clemons against the Buccaneers. Through two games, Clemons has registered two assisted tackles in 72 snaps. He not only hasn’t registered a quarterback hit, but Clemons hasn’t even recorded a quarterback pressure.
Clemons also has a 45.4 grade, which is the eighth-worst grade among pass rushers this season. He also hasn’t been a stranger to penalties at inopportune times.
Against the Bills, Clemons was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty after hitting Josh Allen high on a 3rd and 19 play during the first quarter on a pass that fell incomplete. That penalty eventually resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by James Cook.
During the preseason, Clemons was involved in a skirmish with a Packers player and was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty. Glenn has been determined to clean up the penalties this season after the Jets led the league in that category the previous two seasons.
But Glenn is sticking by Clemons and says his role this week will not change.
“Sometimes when people, when they don’t see a stat, they feel like a player hasn’t done anything right,” Glenn said. “But there’s other things that go on in the game that we ask players to do, that again, that people really don’t understand.
“I will say this, we know exactly what we’re trying to do as a staff. Listen, everybody has ups and downs when it comes to playing, and the things that we are asking Mike to do, he’s doing a good job at that. Does he need to improve? Absolutely, like everybody else, alright? But we know exactly what we are doing with Mike.”
With Justin Fields also out due to a concussion he suffered against the Bills last week, the Jets will elevate quarterback Brady Cook from the practice squad. He will back up Tyrod Taylor, who will start in Fields’ place.
Cook, a rookie out of Missouri, joined the Jets’ practice squad after he was released during final cuts last month. During the preseason, Cook completed 65.8% of his passes for 235 yards with one touchdown and an interception.
“He wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t confident in him,” Glenn said. “I thought he did some really good things in the preseason. Listen, he’s still learning, and it’s one of those things, we have a number of rookies that play on the field for us, and it’s no different than him being a quarterback.
“Obviously, it’s a more highlighted position, but he’s a rookie, and if it comes to him needing to play, he has to play, and we’re going to do everything we can to put him in the best position to be successful.”
