NY Jets place LG Alex Lewis on non-football injury list

The NY Jets have placed left guard Alex Lewis on the non-football injury list.

The NY Jets have remained secretive about the situation concerning starting left guard Alex Lewis over the last two weeks. But on Friday, we finally gained a little bit of clarity about the issue.

Lewis was held out of practice again on Friday and head coach Adam Gase revealed that he would not play this Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders marking the second consecutive game he was set to miss for an undisclosed, non-injury reason.

Gase said that the decision was “an organizational” one and that Lewis would not be fined or suspended. He made it very clear that this was not a disciplinary issue as many had speculated.

While there initially some hesitation, a report that came out later in the day seems to support that.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini later reported that the Jets planned to place Lewis on the non-football injury list. The reason? Lewis is “seeking help for a non-football issue,” per Cimini. Soon after, the Jets followed suit officially placing the veteran guard on the NFI list.

This means that Lewis will miss a minimum of three weeks and with just five games remaining in the year, his season may very well be over.

Cimini also indicated that the Jets will continue to pay Lewis while he is on the NFI list which is not something that teams are required to do.

According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, Lewis is the one who came to the Jets seeking help and the organization fully supported him — as evidenced by the fact that he’s still getting paid and not in any hot water with the team.

The NY Jets have held Alex Lewis out of practice since last week

Lewis originally missed multiple days of practice last week with this mysterious non-injury issue and was ultimately ruled out of this past Sunday’s game. Many speculated that it could be a disciplinary issue, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Confusion continued to grow when Lewis was held out the first two days of practice this week. Now, we finally have at least a moderate idea of what’s going on.

Lewis has started nine games this season after returning in the offseason on a three-year, $18.6 million extension. His play has been up-and-down, but he’s served his role as a starting-caliber offensive lineman.

The Jets will continue to roll with the recently-claimed Pat Elflein for the time being, assuming he plays as he’s questionable with a shoulder injury.

But more importantly, we wish Lewis the best of luck with whatever he’s dealing with and hope that he could return to the field before long.