The New York Jets received some favorable injury news heading into the holiday weekend.
Head coach Robert Saleh announced during his media availability on Thursday, August 29 that cornerback Michael Carter II is fully back. The outstanding defensive back had missed the last several weeks of training camp.
Fans were concerned that Carter’s injury might be more serious than what was being reported because there had been no updates on it. Saleh, though, immediately put an end to that conjecture.
Saleh also revealed that Mike Williams, a seasoned wide receiver, will play on Monday Night Football in the first game of the season against the San Francisco 49ers.
Williams Adds a New Dimension to the Offense Play for the Jets “[Williams] went back to team drills.” He probably had four or five catches and well over 100 [receiving] yards today, but overall, I thought he had a pretty solid day, Saleh remarked.
Saleh told the media that it “wouldn’t be fair” to expect Williams to “hit the ground running in Week 1” despite those encouraging developments.
“We’ll be very smart with how we use him, but he’s going to be plenty available to make his mark,” Saleh continued. “He is going to be available Week 1 but to expect him to be 100%.”
Throughout the past few years, the Jets have been severely damaged by the injury bug. Going into 2024, it appears that Lady Luck has finally smiled upon the Jets.
Unexpected Injury News Lets Several Jets Kids In
When the initial 53-man roster was announced, some people were taken aback by the news that veteran defensive tackle Leki Fotu had been placed on injured reserve.
Fotu will miss at least the first four games of the season as a result of that roster decision.
Saleh stated, “He is battling with a hammy. We were hoping for [a return] in Week 2 or Week 3, but we felt that we should just let it ride until the fourth game because it’s that Thursday game instead of having him be ready for Week 3.
Saleh is alluding to the short week that separated the Week 2 Tennessee Titans game from the Week 3 Thursday Night Football game against the New England Patriots. Before the club plays the Minnesota Vikings in London in Week 5, Fotu will be allowed to rejoin the squad.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh explained the decision to put DT Leki Fotu on IR.
Said they think he would’ve been ready for Week 3, instead he will miss the first 4 games of the season & be fully ready to go for Week 5.
[The blow video is where I believe Fotu got hurt during #Panthers… https://t.co/UyneDLMwDM pic.twitter.com/79zkT6KM2X
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) August 30, 2024
Before training camp, New York had three defensive lineman who were undrafted free agents, making them probably their strongest positional group.
Braiden McGregor (Michigan), Leonard Taylor (Miami), and Eric Watts (UConn). Honorable mention for those three men. Additionally indicative that NYJ realized they had no chance of clearing waivers, SNY’s Connor Hughes posted on social media. “It’s been a while since you were able to say this about a team.”
