The Jets remained without cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson at practice on Thursday.
Gardner suffered a concussion in last Sunday’s loss to the Panthers and the fact that he remains out of practice means that he’s likely going to miss Sunday’s game against the Bengals. With Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at receiver for Cincinnati, that’s not great for the Jets’ chances of winning their first game.
The same could be said of the potential absence of wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Wilson did not play in Week 7 due to a knee injury and he’s been out of practice both days this week as well.
Tight end Mason Taylor (quad) was added to the injury report as a non-participant. Linebacker Cam Jones (hip), kick returner Kene Nwangwu (concussion), and defensive tackle Jay Tufele (knee) were also out.
Running back Breece Hall (knee) and quarterback Tyrod Taylor (knee) were listed as limited for the second straight day while edge rusher Jermaine Johnson (ankle) and cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers (hip) moved up to full participation.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn kept his quarterback choice for this week under wraps when he met with reporters on Wednesday and no one else from the team has given a hint about who will get the start.
Justin Fields said that he and Tyrod Taylor are both getting practice reps with the first team and Taylor was also mum about which direction things might go when he met with the media on Thursday. Taylor replaced Fields for the second half of last Sunday’s loss, but he said he’s not expecting any role against the Bengals this Sunday.
“I have no anticipation for it,” Taylor said. “My mind and my sole focus is being available and ready to be able to lead this team when called upon.”
Glenn will speak to reporters again on Friday, but he cited competitive advantage for his reason for withholding the quarterback choice on Wednesday so the wait to find out his identity may run all the way up to the announcement of inactives on Sunday morning.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that 34 seniors candidates are moving onto the next phase of the selection process for the Class of 2026.
A group of 52 names was cut down to 34 by the Hall of Fame’s blue-ribbon committee for seniors candidates. Players in this group last could have appeared in a game during the 2000 season.
The members of the committee voted for 25 players each with the top 25 plus ties moving on to the next round of voting. The group will be cut to nine semifinalists next month and three finalists will move on to the Hall of Fame’s selection committee for consideration.
The full list of candidates is:
Quarterbacks: Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Roman Gabriel.
Running backs: Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul “Tank” Younger.
Wide receivers/Tight ends: Isaac Curtis, Lavvie Dilweg, Henry Ellard, Harold Jackson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Otis Taylor.
Offensive linemen: Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert.
Defensive linemen: L.C. Greenwood, Jim Marshall.
Linebackers: Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Larry Grantham, Lee Roy Jordan, Clay Matthews Jr., Tommy Nobis.
Defensive backs: Dick Anderson, Bobby Boyd, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Lemar Parrish, Everson Walls.
Special teams: Steve Tasker.
Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand didn’t reveal anything about the team’s plans at quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Bengals when he spoke to reporters at a Thursday press conference, but he did project confidence that the team will be able to improve on its performance through the first seven games of the season.
They have not scored a touchdown in the last two of those games and their passing attack is 32nd in the league when it comes to yards, which are the main reasons why quarterback Justin Fields was benched last Sunday in favor of Tyrod Taylor. Neither quarterback is inspiring much optimism outside of the organization, but Engstrand said that his belief in the unit has not been shaken.
“My confidence level is at an all-time high,” Engstrand said. “I have total confidence in the outfit. The attitude that they put forward, the way they show up to work in the office, in the meeting room, on the practice field. I have the utmost confidence in all of our players and all of our group that we can turn this thing around and find a way to get ourselves in the win column.”
Confidence without results can only get you so far and this would be a good time for the Jets to show that their work is building to something other than what they’ve produced so far this season.
Much has been said about the decision of Jets owner Woody Johnson to offer blunt, candid, and harsh criticism of his starting (for now) quarterback, Justin Fields. It was a stunning moment, one that only seemed less jarring due to the nonchalance with which Johnson’s words were delivered.
His comments absolutely crossed the line.
What business owner publicly criticizes key employees? What business owner publicly criticizes any employee? A week after the story of the moment arose from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa venting frustrations at unnamed teammates in the heat of the moment, Johnson delivered a cold-blooded takedown of one specific player.
Even Jerry Jones has never done that.
Is it really a surprise? Bad teams stay bad due to dysfunction within the organization. And it all starts at the top. If the owner doesn’t know what he, or she, is doing, how can anyone expect the rest of the organization to operate effectively?
If the NFL were truly a capitalist, and not inherently socialist, operation, there would be real consequences for a chronic habit of steering the ship into every available iceberg. Financial consequences. But with the 32 teams sharing the white whale of TV revenue and 40 percent of the gate for every game, failing to make a profit becomes a Brewster’s Millions exercise for any NFL franchise.
One team wins the Super Bowl each year. All teams win the battle of the balance sheet. Johnson’s Jets will continue to swim in black ink, even if he has egg on his own face.
The real losers are the fans. There’s nothing they can do about ownership. As 49ers CEO Jed York once said, “I own this football team. You don’t dismiss owners. I’m sorry that’s the facts and that’s the case, but that’s the fact.”
And the NFL benefits from the fact that its fans are passionate, to a fault. This kid put it best, after the Jets’ seventh loss in seven weeks of the regular season: “I hate this team. I was born into this and I’m not gonna ever — I’m always a Jets fan. But, like, I hate this team.”
He hates this team, but he’ll still follow this team. He’ll still go to this team’s games. He can’t deny himself of this team he loves, this team that has become part of his existence, his identity.
Which makes it much easier for bad owners to continue to print money. And which makes it impossible for Jets fans to do the one thing they objectively should: Boycott everything about the Jets until Johnson sells.
