When the New York Jets announced that they had signed safety Adrian Amos to a one-year deal, many fans and analysts were perplexed by the move of bringing in a third starting safety into the fold. After all, the team was just months removed from trading for Ravens’ safety Chuck Clark and still had Jordan Whitehead on the roster.
Now, we have a little more clarity as to why the signing was made.
New York fears that Clark has suffered a serious knee injury following the conclusion of voluntary OTAs as first reported by Zack Rosenblatt of the Athletic. Clark is seeking a second opinion but suffered the injury last week in practice.
The details of how Clark received his injury, and how long he would be out have not been made public at this time, but provides clarity on why the Jets wanted to bring another veteran safety into the fold.
Amos, 30, is entering his ninth year in the NFL and is coming off a season where he set career highs in tackles (102), and tackles for loss (7). He had five passes defended in 17 starts and recorded an average Pro Football Focus score of 53.4. New York had the 28th-ranked safety group according to Pro Football Focus last season though which should gain some help with Amos’ experience.
Clark was considered a major upgrade for New York heading into the 2023 season. He had started every game for Baltimore last season and had played in 1,248 consecutive snaps dating back to Week 16 of 2021.
Clark is in the final year of his deal with the Jets while carrying a cap hit of over $4 million.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned for further updates.
