NY Jets receive positive update on mysterious Olu Fashanu injury

NY Jets fans have been patiently awaiting any sort of injury update on rookie left tackle Olu Fashanu, who exited Sunday's Week 16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth quarter with a foot injury.

Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich was unable to provide much of an update when speaking to reporters both following Sunday's game and on Monday. ESPN's Rich Cimini did confirm Sunday night that the injury was indeed to Fashanu's foot and was not Achilles-related, but that was all we had to this point.

Until now. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Monday night that while the Jets are still awaiting to determine the exact specifics, the "early sense is the injury is not major." That's a sigh of relief to both the organization and its fanbase.

Fashanu injured his foot late in Sunday's loss to the Rams and was unable to put any pressure on his left leg before being taken to a cart on the sideline. He was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game and was spotted on crutches in the locker room.

Olu Fashanu injury update

Ulbrich told reporters that Fashanu would have to undergo additional testing before the Jets were made fully aware of the severity of his injury. But right now, all indications are that the rookie left tackle avoided the worst-case scenario.

The 11th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Fashanu has been a revelation since taking over as the team's starting left tackle in Week 10. He's graded a Pro Football Focus pass-block grade north of 75.0 since assuming the starting job following Tyron Smith's injury.

Fashanu began the season as a backup and was forced into action at both right tackle and right guard, a position he had quite literally never played before, following injuries to Morgan Moses and Alijah Vera-Tucker.

The rookie predictably struggled out of position but found his groove once moving back to left tackle. The Jets' offensive line has played some of its best football of the season in recent weeks, and that's in no small part due to the performance of the team's rookie tackle.

Ulbrich captured the sentiment of many Jets fans when he confidently stated, "I absolutely believe that Olu is the left tackle for the New York Jets for a long, long time" during Monday's press conference.

Fashanu's promising rookie season has likely come to an end, but the Jets are counting their blessings that their standout young left tackle avoided a major injury. The arrow is firmly pointing up going into 2025.

*UPDATE: Jeff Ulbrich announced on Tuesday that Fashanu has plantar fasciitis and will need foot surgery*

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