NY Jets: Vyncint Smith out at least a month after undergoing surgery

NY Jets’ wide receiver Vyncint Smith will reportedly miss at least a month.

The NY Jets are set to be without one of their better wide receivers for at least a month with the latest injury diagnosis for Vyncint Smith.

As first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Smith is expected to undergo surgery to repair a core muscle injury this Tuesday which will keep him out at least a month.

Connor Hughes of The Athletic later iterated that the expected recovery time is 5-8 weeks meaning that it’s likely he misses more than a month — perhaps even up to two months.

But in reality, this was likely the best-case scenario.

An injury like this has been known to end seasons prematurely meaning that the Jets should be pretty happy that he could be back in as little as a month. Hughes went into gruesome detail about the nature of the injury.

It’s not pretty folks.

Some not-so-pretty details: The core muscle injury #Jets WR Vyncint Smith suffered was essentially his muscle ripping away from the bone. The fact he’s only out 5-8 weeks (following surgery tomorrow) is truly a best-case scenario.

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 17, 2020

There’s a very good chance the Jets will place him on the Active/PUP list which will mean that he doesn’t count towards the active roster count. However, it will be interesting to see if the team places him on the Reserve/PUP list at the start of the season.

If they do opt to do so, that would be an indication that Smith will be out longer than expected as he will be required to sit out at least the first six weeks of the season.

But if the Jets decide to keep him on the active roster heading into the season, expect to see Smith back on the field sooner rather than later.

Could the NY Jets add another veteran wide receiver to replace Vyncint Smith?

Smith’s diagnosis provides even more clarity to the Chris Hogan signing as the team clearly knew that the 24-year-old would miss regular-season time.

And with the receiving corps still being incredibly thin — especially with Denzel Mims sidelined with a hamstring injury — don’t be surprised to see the team add another veteran at the position.

Keep an eye on Demaryius Thomas possibly returning given his experience with the organization and in Adam Gase’s system.

For Vyncint Smith, this is obviously a huge blow given the golden opportunity he was being given this season. Fortunately, he’ll still be able to return and won’t miss the entire year.

But for now, it’s next man up.