Earlier this month, Jets G.M. Joe Douglas didn’t rule out running back Breece Hall being ready to go as of Week One, following last year’s ACL tear. Today, coach Robert Saleh had an even stronger assessment.
“I’m very optimistic on that one,” Saleh told reporters, via NFL.com. “I don’t want to jinx it. I mean, the kid’s already hitting over 22 [mph] on the GPS, so he looks frickin’ good. . . .
“He looks good. Again, he’s one of those kids that we’ve had to kind of hold back from him because -- it’s weird to say it, you don’t want to heal too fast on an ACL. You’ve got to be able to balance it out with strength. He looks strong. He looks powerful. He’s learning. I’m excited for him to get back on the field. I feel like he won’t need to be limited during training camp, even though we still will just to be conscientious and cautious with him, but he looks awesome.”
Hall was having a solid rookie season before suffering the knee injury in October. The rest of the depth chart includes Michael Carter and Zonovan Knight.
Week One will be a huge game for the Jets, a Monday night visit from the Bills. With every team in the conference playing eight games against the teams of the AFC West and NFC East, there’s a chance only the division champion goes to the postseason.
Losing to the Bills at home to start the season wouldn’t be the best way for the Jets to lay the foundation to topple Buffalo.