Frank Reich unveils harsh truth of Kenyon Sadiq's extended Jets absence

It's been a productive summer for the New York Jets, who have finalized their 53-man roster and are now rounding out their practice squad with some of their own castoffs. Unfortunately, they're still working on bringing back some rookies from injury, such as tight end Kenyon Sadiq and D'Angelo Ponds.

Both players, first- and second-round draft choices respectively, were expected to play major roles when they were selected back in April. Untimely injuries prevented the youngsters from participating in training camp and the preseason, costing them valuable time amid their transition to the NFL.

The good news is, Sadiq was back on the practice field for the first time since the start of camp on Monday, per The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt, and it may confirm what head coach Aaron Glenn has been saying for the last few weeks that both he and Ponds will be ready to go by the time Week 1 rolls around.

However, just because Sadiq was able to get a handful of practices in before the start of the regular season doesn't mean he'll be on the field for every offensive snap when the Jets take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 1.

Kenyon Sadiq will have to work into New York Jets offense slowly, according to Frank Reich

When asked about Sadiq's Week 1 role with the Jets after getting zero reps in preseason, new offensive coordinator Frank Reich was brutally honest about the 16th overall pick's workload.

"There's no doubt we'll have to scale it back. Just gotta work him in slowly. We can't rush it, as much as we would like to. The good thing is he's very smart, and we've said it all before, and he'll be as ready as you can go, but there's nothing like practice. I know he has stayed locked in, but we gotta get back out on the practice field and just slowly work him back into the mix."

When Sadiq was drafted, Jets fans were salivating at the endless usage possibilities of the 6-foot-3, 240-pound athletic specimen out of Oregon. He's practically the ultimate offensive chess piece, able to work out of multiple positions in the formation.

Unfortunately, he won't be fully unleashed until a few weeks into the season, but that's okay because the Jets have a contingency plan. Don't sleep on second-year tight end Mason Taylor, who has had a strong summer entering his sophomore campaign.

Taylor's hopeful emergence will allow Sadiq the time he needs to get the Jets offense nailed down and, at some point down the line in 2026, give New York a dynamic one-two punch at tight end.

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