Jets running back Braelon Allen will officially be out of the lineup.
On Thursday morning, Gang Green placed Allen on injured reserve, which means he will miss at least the Jets’ next four games, starting with the Cowboys this Sunday. In a corresponding move, the team signed Khalil Herbert, who was recently on the Seahawks practice squad.
Allen suffered a knee injury during the second quarter of the Jets’ 27-21 loss to the Dolphins on Monday night and was quickly ruled out. Allen injured his knee on a kickoff return and after staying down on the turf for a few minutes had to be helped to the sideline by trainers.
Against Miami, Allen rushed for 26 yards on four carries before he was injured. He also had a costly fumble on the Jets’ first drive that prevented them from scoring. It was one of three turnovers the Jets committed against the Dolphins.
During his Wednesday press conference, Jets coach Aaron Glenn stated that the team was awaiting the results of a second opinion. Glenn also described the injury as “pretty serious,” and the second-year running back was seen in the locker room on Wednesday on crutches.
Allen, 21, was starting to come into a groove with the Jets and was their short-yardage running back. He rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown backing up Breece Hall.
With Allen out, the Jets will rely even more on Hall, Justin Fields and Isaiah Davis. Hall leads the team in rushing with 238 yards and Fields has registered three rushing touchdowns.
“Isaiah’s got to bump up, but losing a guy like Braelon, that’s tough,” Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. “Because you can watch it and he was starting to, you feel like he’s hitting his stride. He’s making some good reads, he’s running hard, he’s running physical, and then he goes down.
“So, that is a shot. That hurts a bit, but that’s why, again, why we’ve got a guy like Isaiah to bump up into the two and we’ll just go from there. Braelon will get back as soon as he can, but yeah, he’ll be missed.”
Herbert, 27, spent four of his five seasons in the league with the Bears after they selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He was released by the Colts in early September and signed to the Seahawks’ practice squad before he was released on Wednesday. Herbert’s best season came in 2022 with the Bears when he rushed for 731 yards and four touchdowns.
In addition to his ball-carrying experience, Herbert has also been used as a returner. He has 36 returns on his resume and has averaged 25.6 yards per attempt. The Jets’ return role is currently shaky after Isaiah Williams fumbled a return on the first play of the second half. He also fielded a punt return at the three-yard line in the fourth quarter of the same game.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Jets special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said about the team’s returner options. “We’re just really, honestly, still going through our evaluation process.
“I said this last week, all the different guys that we are fortunate enough to have on our team, they all possess different skillsets. So, we’re still evaluating depending on what it is we’re trying to run, who we can use depending on that skillset, what it is we’re trying to accomplish.”
