FLORHAM PARK — The excitement of Hall-of-Fame weekend has come and gone and the New York Jets have returned to the practice field for another week of prep before their next preseason game.
The Jets have joining practices with the Carolina Panthers this week before their Saturday game, but are continuously putting in the work on their own end to prepare themselves for the 2023 season. Luckily for their fans, the Jets put up a very impressive offensive showing Sunday afternoon that should leave plenty of people happy with the progress the group has made overall.
As always, not everything was positive from Jets practice (although there were plenty fo things to be excited about) so let’s get to the biggest takeaways.
Injury Updates
Laken Tomlinson, Quincy Williams, Jermaine Johnson and Carl Lawson all left practice during different points and did not return.
Following practice, head coach Robert Saleh confirmed that neither injury was serious, although Lawson was dealing with some back tightness. He did not confirm whether or not any of the players would be out of practice next week.
In other roster news, the Jets officially signed linebackers Nick Vigil and Sam Eguavoen. To make room on the 90-man roster, the team released fellow linebackers Hamsah Nasirildeen and Maalik Hall. Nasrildeen
Second-Team promotions and standouts
It seems like the Jets are beginning to get the second-round center more reps on the practice field. It was only for two sessions but Joe Tippmann began working with the second-team offense for the first time in training camp.
Tippmann had an excellent practice – he got out in front to open up room on a screen and was the catalyst of several big run plays. He was very good and definitely deserving of his small promotion. Saleh later talked about how “pleasantly surprised” he was with how Tippmann looked in Friday’s preseason game against Cleveland.
He wasn’t the only OL that excelled Sunday though. After playing in his first game in two years Friday, Mekhi Becton followed that up with a very strong practice. He had two pancakes on Will McDonald IV and also handled a stunt very well. It was the kind of practice that showed a clear contract between Billy Turner, the teams current starting left tackle, and Becton.
New York wants to be patient with their young tackle, but it’s becoming very evident he needs more reps.
Michaerl Carter’s big day
Thanks to his offensive line, Michael Carter had easily his best day running the football. He hit holes with conviction and was very quick to get open inside. On a number of occasions, he read his blocks well and cut to the other side of the field where a big gain was to be found.
The Jets understand that they are still in on the Dalvin Cook sweepstakes but if Carter runs like he did today, the team will be less likely to make a move.
Quarterbacks Excel
Sunday was a strong day for the offense as a whole. Aaron Rodgers was excellent with short, quick throws to open receivers while Zach Wilson even had a couple of pretty passes in team sessions. The highlight of one particular play was when Wilson and Rodgers found a leaping receiver separately in a two-minute drill simulation.
This was easily one of Wilson’s strong days at quarterback. He was decisive with the football and didn’t seem to second guess anything that the coverage was giving him. He was very good.
If there was one minor issue from Sunday it was that Rodgers was picked off in the red zone on the final day of practice. He tried to thread the needle in the end zone but was promptly picked off by Sauce Gardner. On a day where he didn’t make a lot of mistakes or errant throws, that was easily the worst one.
Jermaine Johnson tortures Billy Turner
It was very evident that the Jets second-team offensive line was more successful in pass coverage than the first time. Even before he left practice early, Jermaine Johnson was torturing Billy Turner on the left side and easily recorded three “sacks” on the day. He used a bevy of different rush moves and was constantly making Rodgers run for his life.
Max Mitchell may have started better than Turner, but even he struggled towards the end of practice. Bryce Huff got through for a couple of sacks on his own on the right side. John Franklin-Myers won a few times on the edge as well.
For those that were surprised with Huff playing late in the second half of Friday’s preseason game, Saleh confirmed that had solely to do with the amount of players that were available.
“When you look at our DL, you could argue all should sit. They’re all deserving so someone had to play…” Saleh explained.
On the other side, without Duane Brown, it seems New York is focused on allowing Turner and Mitchell to be the starting tackles while they wait to see more from Becton. Sunday was very obvious though that while Johnson is probably going to be a favorite for 10+ sacks this season, the best offensive linemen may be on the second-group.
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