The injury bug has hit the Jets a week after their 21-13 victory against the Texans.
Four of five Jets offensive linemen (Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Morgan Moses) did not practice on Wednesday.
In addition to that, linebacker and captain C.J. Mosley (neck), defensive tackle Solomon Thomas (knee), cornerback Michael Carter II (back), and reserve offensive lineman Jake Hanson (hamstring) also didn’t practice.
Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich says he thinks Smith (veteran rest day) and Moses (knee) will play in Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. He is also more optimistic about Simpson’s (groin) status than Vera-Tucker’s high ankle sprain.
“It’s going to be a lot of different variables,” Ulbrich said about the guard position. “We will see the health of Hanson, AVT, and Simpson. Fortunately, Olu [Fashanu] went in there. There are historical references about a guy that’s never played the position in his life including Pop Warner as well as he did was pretty astounding.
If he’s a guy that has to play in there, it’s a great opportunity to play and get some experience. He provides a quality asset for us when he does play. A lot to assess from an injury standpoint.”
Mosley has had an injury-ridden 2024 season. He first missed three weeks after suffering a toe injury in the Jets’ Week 2 victory against the Titans.
Mosley returned for the team’s Week 6 loss to the Bills. However, he suffered a neck injury during pregame warmups in Week 8 against the Patriots and has not played since.
“He has had a couple of procedures on his neck to see if he can loosen up,” Ulbrich said about Mosley. “Got a little bit of range of motion as of today. We are not putting him out there until he gets full range and feels confident, and we are hopeful that happens in the next couple of weeks.
ULBRICH ON WILLIAMS
On Tuesday, hours before the trade deadline, the Jets moved on from Mike Williams, a key free-agent acquisition.
Gang Green sent Williams to the Steelers for a 2025 fifth-round draft pick.
Ulbrich told reporters that the Williams signing did not work out for various reasons.
“At the end of the day, we gotta look at this as an opportunity for Irv [Charles], for [Malachi] Corley and Zay [Xavier Gipson] to get more involved without offense,” Ulbrich said.
“For whatever the reasons, you know, for a little bit of us, a little bit of him, a little bit, a little bit of everything. But it’s a great opportunity for him to go out there in Pittsburgh and get an opportunity to get more targets, be more involved.”
Williams signed a one-year contract in March and was supposed to be a dynamic pass-catcher who would help elevate the Jets offense, but that never came to fruition. He recovered slowly from his 2023 ACL injury, and Williams never built chemistry with Aaron Rodgers.
Williams went into Rodgers’ doghouse following the Jets’ loss to the Bills last month. Rodgers’ pass during his final drive was intercepted when, according to the quarterback, Williams ran the wrong route on the play.
Williams then missed the next two days of practice following the loss for “personal reasons” after the Jets acquired Davante Adams in a trade with the Raiders. Williams did not respond to Rodgers’ criticism when he spoke to the media later that week.
Now, the Jets will roll with Malachi Corley, Xavier Gipson at receiver, and Adams and Garrett Wilson. Allen Lazard (chest) was placed on injured reserve before the Oct. 31 game against the Texans. That means Lazard isn’t eligible to play again until the Jets’ Dec. 8 game at Miami.
“You got Zay, you got Corley, you got Irv, obviously you got G and Davante, so still got a strong unit there,” Ulbrich said.
