NY Jets place LB Blake Cashman on IR for second time this season

The NY Jets have placed linebacker Blake Cashman on injured reserve again.

NY Jets‘ linebacker Blake Cashman has fallen victory to the injury bug throughout his brief NFL career and even dating back to his college days. And that trend has continued this season.

On Thursday, the Jets officially announced that they had placed Cashman on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. This marks the second time that he has been placed on IR this season continuing a troubling trend in his career.

Cashman entered the season with lofty expectations after playing in seven games in his rookie season. Following C.J. Mosley‘s opt-out, the Jets decided to give Cashman the start alongside Neville Hewitt over the incumbent Avery Williamson.

Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn for the worse as he was injured on the team’s third defensive play of the season. The result was a groin injury that would land him on IR and keep him sidelined for the next four weeks.

Cashman returned in Week 6, now relegated to a special-teams role behind Hewitt and Williamson. But after playing in just two games, Cashman once again found himself injured — this time it was a hamstring injury.

He wasn’t placed on IR, but his absence was extended once it was revealed that Cashman was now dealing with a hamstring injury in both legs. Finally, the 24-year-old returned in Week 12 — but he wouldn’t last long.

Cashman played 12 special-teams snaps before leaving with an injury. After the game, head coach Adam Gase revealed that Cashman had suffered yet another hamstring injury — but an injury completely unrelated to his first two hamstring injuries.

And on Thursday, the Jets placed Cashman on IR for the second time this season. He will be required to miss at least the next three weeks and with only five games remaining in the season, that likely spells the end of his 2020 campaign.

The NY Jets had high hopes for Blake Cashman entering the season

The 2020 season has been a difficult one for Cashman, a player who the Jets hoped would establish himself as a full-time starter this year.

He was given that opportunity in Week 1 and an injury prevented him from capitalizing. Once the Jets traded Williamson midseason, the hope was that Cashman could step in as a starter down the stretch.

Instead, injuries have prevented that from happening once again leaving his future with the organization uncertain.

Cashman will likely have to fight for a roster spot next season as opposed to being locked into a starting role.

But to even compete, he’ll first have to prove he can stay healthy. This season was not a good indicator that he’ll be able to do so.