Braelon Allen suffers completely avoidable knee injury due to Jets buffoonery

New York Jets running back Braelon Allen exited with a knee injury in the first half of the team's Monday night game against the Miami Dolphins. The injury occurred as Allen was returning a kick in the second quarter of this Week 4 divisional matchup.

Allen was down on the ground for a few moments before walking off very gingerly under his own power and straight to the locker room. The Jets wasted little time declaring him out for the remainder of the game.

The second-year running back was called upon to fill in for the injured Kene Nwangwu as one of the team's kick returners, much to the surprise and dismay of Jets fans.

Not only did it make little sense to have a big-bodied power back like Allen returning kicks, but it also put one of the team's most important offensive skill players at risk. Now, the Jers are paying for that short-sighted mistake

The Jets could have avoided the Braelon Allen injury

The Jets signed wide receiver Isaiah Williams off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad following Nwangwu's injury, specifically for the purpose of him filling in as a kick returner.

The team has also used the likes of rookie wide receiver Arian Smith and running back Isaiah Davis in the role, both of whom saw significant reps as return men this summer. Allen, however, was not asked to return kicks in the preseason.

There's a reason for that. While Allen's powerful rushing style is crucial to the Jets' offense, his skill set doesn't lend itself well to returning kicks. He looks like he's running in slow motion when compared to the likes of Smith and even Davis.

You could probably point to roughly 10 or so players on this Jets roster who make more sense as return specialists than Allen. There is zero reasonable argument for Allen to be returning kicks.

The Jets will await further word of the severity of Allen's injury, but fans can't help but feel like this was a preventable injury made possible by a short-sighted devision by the coaching staff, here's to hoping Allen avoided anything serious.

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