Adam Gase must be cursed.
In 2016, his Dolphins had ten players go on the Injured Reserve. In 2017, they had 20. In 2018, the year Gase was fired, the Dolphins placed 14 different players on the IR. 2019, his debut year with the Jets, 24 players spent time on the list.
And now the Jets’ healthy WRs are Josh Malone, Donte Moncrief, George Campbell, and Jehu Chesson.
With twelve days left until the 2020 Jets season kicks off, the team already has racked up over 25 injuries.
TWENTY-FIVE.
CB Brian Poole. RB Josh Adams. S Matthias Farley. OL Greg Van Roten. DL John Franklin-Myers. WR Jamison Crowder. TE Chris Herndon. WR Chris Hogan. WR Braxton Berrios. OL Chuma Edoga. OL Cam Clark. S Marcus Maye. WR Denzel Mims. RB La’Mical Perine. WR Breshad Perriman. WR Jeff Smith. WR Lawrence Cager. LB Tarell Basham. DE Jabari Zuniga. OL Conor McDermott. LB Patrick Onwuasor. CB Pierre Desir. WR Vyncint Smith. RB Le’Veon Bell. LB James Burgess. All hurt at some point in Jets camp.
If it’s any solace, only 17 of those are current injuries. But it isn’t good. At all.
In order for Sam Darnold and Gang Green to have success, the Jets have to toss Darnold a lifeline. They need to get him weapons, which they did. But what happens when the weapons get injured? Darnold’s left afloat with arguably less talent than the year before. Of course, injuries are strokes of bad luck. There’s no blaming Joe Douglas. But unless the wide receivers heal up quick, Jehu Chesson will be Sam Darnold’s number one target. Not to knock Jehu Chesson, as he’s a very talented wideout, but Darnold will be absolutely left high and dry if this is the case.
Douglas is doing what he can, too. He brought in WR Donte Moncrief, who just passed COVID-19 protocols and joined the Jets in practice today. He claimed WR DJ Montgomery off of waivers from the Browns. A trade will be in the future for the Jets if the WRs don’t heal. But the only thing that can help Darnold currently is time.
It isn’t Gase’s practice regime causing this. The New York Daily News’s Charles McDonald reports that Gase’s practices are just average football practices. Jet X’s Robby Sabo seconds that.
The head trainer, John Mellody, was relieved of his duties in June after the Jets led the NFL in injuries, rushing back C.J. Mosley after a groin injury (causing him to miss 14 games), and having injury grievances filed by QB Luke Falk and OL Kelechi Osemele. Mellody had been the Jets’ head trainer since 1996. Injuries had not been a problem until Gase arrived in New York. Mellody’s longtime assistant Dave Zuffelato was promoted to the job as a corresponding move.
Some would then point the finger at Zuffelato. It’s his fault the Jets have so many injuries, right? Not necessarily. Zuffelato and Mellody weren’t with Gase in Miami.
There’s no real fault for these injuries. Writers are stumped. Perhaps Gase is terribly unlucky. Maybe the Jets are cursed. Maybe Joe Namath did in fact sell his soul for the Super Bowl ring. Maybe the grass is bad at One Jets Drive.
Whatever the reason may be, the Jets have 12 days to get their starters and depth back. They may need a witch doctor or two.
