NY Jets: 3 players injured during Thursday's practice

Justin Fried

NY Jets, Alex Lewis / Adam Hunger/Getty Images

The NY Jets have avoided the injury bug, for the most part, this summer, but during Thursday's practice, the team had three players leave early with injuries.

Head coach Robert Saleh gave an injury update following Thursday's practice and he revealed that defensive end John Franklin-Myers had a shoulder injury, offensive guard Alex Lewis had a head injury, and tight end Daniel Brown had a hamstring injury.

All three players left practice early, although the extent of their injuries is unknown at this time. Franklin-Myers, Lewis, and Brown join the likes of Chuma Edoga, Jabari Zuniga, and Cameron Clark who have suffered injuries in training camp.

Of them all, the only one that is serious is, of course, the injury to Clark who left Tuesday's practice in an ambulance after suffering a spinal contusion.

The NY Jets hope that all three players will return before long.

Franklin-Myers is the only one of the three new injured players projected to be a starter in 2021. The former Los Angeles Rams fourth-round pick broke out last season after being claimed off waivers the previous year.

He finished the season with a pressure rate of 14.4 percent — a figure that ranked second among all interior defensive linemen behind just Aaron Donald.

The Jets will be relying on Franklin-Myers to be a big part of a revamped defensive line featuring the likes of Quinnen Williams, Carl Lawson, Sheldon Rankins, and Folorunso Fatukasi, among others.

If Franklin-Myers is forced to miss any time, one player who could see an uptick in snaps is second-year pro Bryce Huff. Huff has impressed this summer and the former undrafted free agent had a sack in place of Franklin-Myers on Thursday.

Lewis is competing for one of the depth guard spots on the team after serving as the Jets' starting left guard for the better part of the last two seasons.

He was working with the starters on Thursday as rookie first-round pick Alijah Vera-Tucker missed his second consecutive practice with a minor injury. The Jets guard depth could be tested with Vera-Tucker, Lewis, and Clark all dealing with injuries.

Brown was the Jets' leading special-teamer last season, but he faces an uphill battle competing for one of the depth tight end spots on the roster. He's competing with the likes of Ryan Griffin, Trevon Wesco, and Kenny Yeboah for a roster spot.

The Jets hope that none of these injuries are serious and that all three players can return in the near future.

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.