NY Jets place Blessuan Austin on IR despite practicing yesterday

The NY Jets have placed cornerback Blessuan Austin on injured reserve.

The NY Jets have now lost their three starting cornerbacks within the span of a week following their decision to place Blessuan Austin on injured reserve.

The Jets officially placed Austin on IR on Saturday just one day after he returned to practice in a limited fashion. Austin was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, but something clearly changed within the last day or two.

The former Rutgers star has been dealing with a neck injury that was seen as nothing more than a minor muscle strain. As such, there was considerable optimism that he would play this week, especially after he returned to practice on Friday.

Now, he’s not only set to miss this game, but the next three weeks.

The circumstances surrounding that decision are certainly a little questionable, but the fact remains that the Jets have now lost their three starting cornerbacks within the span of just a few days.

Austin joins fellow starter Brian Poole on injured reserve while struggling veteran Pierre Desir was released earlier in the week. The Jets now have five healthy cornerbacks on the active roster — three of which are rookies.

The NY Jets’ secondary will look very different with Blessuan Austin out

Fifth-round rookie Bryce Hall will likely step into a starting role on Sunday alongside either undrafted rookie Lamar Jackson or the recently-claimed Corey Ballentine.

The Jets will also have veteran special-teamer Arthur Maulet starting in place of Poole in the slot with undrafted rookie Javelin Guidry serving as his primary backup.

That’s certainly quite the shakeup and it will come against a potent Los Angeles Chargers passing attack led by the likes of Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, and Mike Williams.

Things could get ugly this week.

The Jets also announced that they had activated outside linebacker Frankie Luvu from injured reserve and signed quarterback Mike White to the active roster.

Luvu was placed on IR with a groin injury after going down last month in the Jets’ 24-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins. After missing the team’s last three games, Luvu will return this week.

As for White, the former fifth-round pick will once again serve as Joe Flacco’s backup with Sam Darnold sidelined with a shoulder injury. As long as Darnold is out, expect that to remain the case.

The Jets will be sporting a new-look secondary brimming with young talent on Sunday. But with opportunity comes a potential for failure.

And that’s something that Jets fans should be prepared for.