NY Jets: Jarrad Davis out up to 2 months with ankle injury

The NY Jets already lost one of their defensive starters last week in Carl Lawson. Now, it appears as though they'll be without another one to start the season after the recent update regarding linebacker Jarrad Davis.

Davis injured his ankle during the team's 23-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday and had to be taken away on a cart after limping to the sidelined.

Head coach Robert Saleh gave an update on Davis' status on Monday and he revealed that the veteran linebacker will be sidelined until around the Jets' bye week, which is Week 6.

That means the Jets expect Davis to be out for roughly two months as he rehabs his ankle injury. After losing Lawson for the year, this is yet another blow to the Jets' defense.

The NY Jets lost another defensive starter with the Jarrad Davis injury

The 21st overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Davis spent the first four years of his career with the Detroit Lions where he never lived up to expectations.

After three years as a starter that saw him post poor Pro Football Focus grades of 52.8 (2017), 51.0 (2018), and 38.6 (2019), Davis was relegated to more of a part-time role in 2020.

While he did play some of the best football of his career last year, the Lions opted not to bring him back in the offseason after declining his fifth-year option.

The Jets took a chance on the uber-athletic linebacker in the offseason signing him to a one-year, $5.5 million contract in the hopes that he could revitalize his career under Saleh.

Unfortunately, the reclamation project has been put on a temporary hold.

Saleh revealed that fifth-round rookie Jamien Sherwood will likely be the player to step up and fill Davis' role in the defense.

A standout special-teamer and safety at Auburn, the Jets drafted Sherwood with the goal of moving him to linebacker in the NFL. They did the same thing with their sixth-round pick, former Florida State safety Hamsah Nasirildeen.

Nasirildeen is currently penciled in as the starting WILL linebacker meaning that the Jets will likely have two rookies starting alongside C.J. Mosley at linebacker to begin the year.

The loss of Jarrad Davis is another blow to the Jets' defense. But at the very least, it presents a golden opportunity to the team's rookie linebackers.