4 NY Jets who must step up following the Chuck Clark injury

The NY Jets were unable to escape spring practices unscathed as starting safety Chuck Clark suffered a serious knee injury during one of the final days of OTAs.

A second opinion confirmed that Clark had, in fact, suffered a torn ACL that would sideline him for the entire 2023 season. The Jets acquired Clark in a trade from the Baltimore Ravens in March of this year with the expectation that he would serve as an upgrade over the departing Lamarcus Joyner.

Now, Clark, who has never missed an NFL game due to injury in his entire career, is out for the upcoming season. That means the Jets will hope to see a number of players step up in his absence.

From the obvious to the not-so-obvious, here are four players who the Jets need to step up following Clark's injury.

4. Sauce Gardner/D.J. Reed, CB, NY Jets

Despite the Jets' struggles at safety last season, the team still had one of the best secondaries in football, and that was largely due to their star-studded cornerback duo of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed.

Gardner earned first-team All-Pro honors as a rookie as perhaps the best cornerback in the NFL, while the often-overlooked Reed was likely a borderline top-10 cornerback in his own right.

The hope was that the Jets would offer them some help in the defensive backfield this offseason, but with Clark now sidelined, the safety position is a significant uncertainty once again.

The Jets are going to need Gardner and Reed to be at their best again in 2023 to mask any issues the team might have at safety. After all, Clark was probably the best safety on the Jets' roster.

3. Jordan Whitehead, S, NY Jets

This one is rather obvious, but it still needs to be said. The Jets need Jordan Whitehead to be better in 2023 — it's that simple.

Signed to a two-year, $14.5 million contract last offseason, Whitehead came over from the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was expected to provide a physical presence in the Jets' secondary.

Whitehead had his moments, but the former Pittsburgh standout was ultimately too inconsistent.

His 15.6 percent missed-tackle rate was tied for fourth among safeties to play at least 80 percent of their team's defensive snaps. Meanwhile, his Pro Football Focus run-defense grade ranked 59th out of 82 qualified safeties.

Whitehead fared a little better in coverage, but his inconsistent run defense and tackling were significant detriments last season. That's where the Jets hoped Clark would step in.

Clark has been one of the NFL's best tackling safeties over the last few seasons. He missed just 6.4 percent of his tackles last year, a figure that ranked sixth-best among qualifiers.

Unfortunately, with Clark now out for the season, the Jets really need Whitehead to become a more consistent run defender. The Jets can't afford to have their safeties struggle to make tackles in open space on a consistent basis.

The Jets may have signed Adrian Amos to replace Chuck Clark, but he's not the only safety on the roster being tasked with picking up the slack. Whitehead needs to do his part too.

2. Jamien Sherwood, LB, NY Jets

While the Jets signed Clark to fill one of their starting safety roles, it's very possible (and probable) that they could have used him in a different role. It would have made sense for the Jets to use Clark as somewhat of a sub-package linebacker on passing downs.

It's a role that Clark has played before, and it would've allowed the Jets to get an extra defensive back on the field in passing situations. That's especially important given the redundancy in Clark and Jordan Whitehead's skill sets.

Perhaps Clark could've slid down to nickel linebacker while someone like Tony Adams, more of a natural free safety, entered the game on third downs. It would've been a unique way to potentially improve the team's pass defense.

Unfortunately, it's probably less likely that they force Whitehead or Adrian Amos into that role now. That means one player who could be in line for a larger role is Jamien Sherwood.

Sherwood is penciled in as the Jets' third starting linebacker alongside C.J. Mosley and Quincy Williams. Unless the Jets re-sign Kwon Alexander or add another veteran, Sherwood is very likely to be given a starting role this season.

With Clark unable to fill that additional nickel linebacker role, the Jets might use Sherwood more in occasional sub packages, such as when the team runs a 3-3-5 with three linebackers and five defensive backs.

The Jets are already entrusting Sherwood with a significant role in 2023. Now, he might have to cover a little for Clark as well.

1. Adrian Amos, S, NY Jets

I mean, who else was this going to be? The Jets signed veteran safety Adrian Amos to a one-year contract shortly after Clark suffered his injury. In the simplest terms, Amos is Clark's direct replacement.

The former Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers standout has started 84 consecutive games dating back to the 2017 season. He quite literally never missed a game during his time in Green Bay.

The Jets are hoping that Amos' remarkable streak of durability holds up more than Clark's did. They're also hoping that he can essentially fill the void left by Clark's absence.

It wasn't long ago that Amos was legitimately considered to be one of the best safeties in the NFL. He ranked inside Pro Football Focus' top 20 safeties in every season from 2017 to 2021, including two seasons where he finished as the league's second-highest-graded safety.

Amos is more versatile than Clark, with ample experience at both free and strong safety. He will likely fill the former role with the Jets, although I wouldn't expect the team's safety roles to be as solidified as they were last year.

Much like with Whitehead, the Jets are banking on Amos putting together a bounce-back season. The eight-year NFL veteran is coming off the worst year of his career, in which he finished with a PFF grade of 53.4 that ranked 81st out of 88 qualifiers.

If the Jets are going to successfully replace Chuck Clark, they'll need Adrian Amos to prove that last season was an anomaly and not a sign of things to come.