Just as Michael Carter looked as though he was going to have his best day yet as a pro, the Jets’ rookie running back went down with a high-ankle sprain that will hold him out for a few weeks, head coach Robert Saleh confirmed.
“Well, we’ll know more by the end of the week, but it is a high-ankle sprain,” Saleh said. “So, there’s a lot of things that we’re looking at. It looks like it’s low grade, two-to-four, two-to-three, whatever you want to call it.
“But we’re going to make sure that he is healthy. Again, another young man, we’re going to make sure that ankle is fully healthy before we rush him back.”
Carter suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Jets’ 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins after starting the game with 63 rushing yards on just nine carries.
That included a season (and career) high 39-yard run in the first quarter that set up the Jets’ first touchdown of the game.
In 10 games this season, the North Carolina product led the Jets with 430 rushing yards on 111 carries along with four touchdowns. He had posted at least 80 all-purpose yards in his previous four games, including a 172-yard day (77 rushing, 95 receiving) in the Jets’ Week 8 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
“He’s been getting better every week and every time he touches the ball, he makes someone miss,” Saleh said. “If the O-line blocks the run for nothing, he’s finding three [yards]. If they block it for five, he’s finding eight, nine, 10. He’s so dynamic with the ball in his hands, so him missing this time where he can get better, obviously a blow for him.
“Hopefully, we can get him back before the end of the season, to get him some more playing time so he can continue to rack up those reps and hit the ground running this offseason.”
