Carl Lawson Injury Update: NY Jets DE is out for the season

Justin Fried

NY Jets, Carl Lawson / Rich Schultz/Getty Images

The NY Jets have announced that star defensive end Carl Lawson will miss the entirety of the 2021 season after tearing his Achilles in Thursday's practice.

Lawson went down during red-zone drills in Thursday's joint practice with the Green Bay Packers and had to be carted off the field.

Initial reports weren't promising as he reportedly felt a "pop" in his lower leg when the injury occurred. An MRI has confirmed that the injury is a season-ending Achilles tear — one of the worst injuries a professional athlete can sustain.

The Jets also announced that safety Zane Lewis, who was also carted off the field during Thursday's practice, would miss the 2021 season as well after suffering a torn patellar tendon and sprained MCL.

The Carl Lawson injury is terrible news for the NY Jets defense

This sucks. There really isn't any other way to put it.

The Jets signed Lawson to a hefty three-year, $45 million contract this offseason with the belief that they were getting one of the best pass rushers in football.

After decades without a true game-changing edge rusher, the Jets hoped that they had finally landed the long-awaited heir apparent to John Abraham in the 26-year-old Lawson.

And maybe they did. But they certainly won't be able to find out this year.

Lawson had been arguably the Jets' best player in training camp, wreaking havoc against the team's offensive line in practice. He was dominating joint practices with the Packers as well prior to his injury.

Now, the Jets will have to go on without their star pass rusher and perhaps the best player on their roster. There is no replacing Carl Lawson.

The likes of John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff, Vinny Curry, Ronald Blair, and others will be forced to take on a larger role in Lawson's absence.

But there is no sugar-coating this. The Jets cannot and will not be able to replace Carl Lawson.

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.