NY Jets safety Chuck Clark suffered a serious knee injury, per report

The NY Jets made some headlines when they signed former Green Bay Packers safety Adrian Amos on Tuesday. A few hours later, we might have some insight into why the Jets made that move.

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt reported Tuesday night that starting safety Chuck Clark is believed to have suffered a serious knee injury. It's unclear if the injury happened during OTAs or how long it will keep him sidelined, but the early prognosis is not good.

Rosenblatt reported that Clark is getting a second opinion, but there isn't a lot of optimism. The fact that the Jets rushed to sign Amos after not previously being in on him, per Rosenblatt, tells us all we need to know.

It seems likely that the Jets expect to be without Clark for most, if not all, of the 2023 season — an absolutely brutal break for a player who was undoubtedly looking forward to a change of scenery this year.

The Chuck Clark injury is a significant blow to the NY Jets' defense

A sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2017 NFL Draft, Clark has played 96 of a possible 98 games over his six-year NFL career. He's never missed a game due to injury. That is, likely, until now.

The Jets sent a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Ravens in exchange for Clark this offseason in what was hailed as one of the savviest moves of the offseason. Clark was expected to step into a prominent role as one of the team's starting safeties this season.

In fact, you can very easily argue that he was the best safety on the Jets' roster. Clark has been one of the best-tackling safeties in the NFL for years, and he earned a stellar reputation as an on and off-field leader during his time with the Ravens.

Given the Jets' struggles at the position last season, Clark was expected to help sure up a position group that was the weakest on the Jets' roster in 2023. Unfortunately, that seems unlikely to happen now.

The newly-signed Amos will likely be tasked with starting alongside Jordan Whitehead, with the likes of Tony Adams, Ashtyn Davis, rookie Jarrick Bernard-Converse, and others competing for the backup spots.

The Jets will await official word on Chuck Clark's injury, but it doesn't look good. It seems as though the Jets have lost a key defensive starter (possibly for the season) in June.