Injuries Mount For Jets at Cornerback; 'All Hands on Deck' Against Chargers
The Jets' cornerback situation went from bad to worse on Thursday.
Not only is veteran cornerback Brian Poole out for the rest of the season with shoulder surgery, according to Jets head coach Adam Gase, but Bless Austin missed practice with a new neck injury.
"We get real young, real fast," Gase told reporters on a Zoom call before practice. "So, we’ll figure out. We’ll be testing some guys out and see who can do what."
Following the release of veteran Pierre Desir this week, Austin was poised to lead New York's group of cornerbacks on Sunday against the Chargers. Instead, he needs an MRI and sat out of Thursday's practice.
READ: Jets Head Coach Adam Gase Reveals Why New York Released Pierre Desir
Gase said the injury to Austin popped up in practice on Wednesday, but the head coach isn't quite sure how it happened.
"We weren’t in pads, so I’m not really sure what happened," he said. "They just told me this morning that something was going on with his neck."
Without Austin, Desir and Poole, New York will rely heavily on rookies Bryce Hall, Lamar Jackson and Javelin Guidry. Otherwise, with their depth at the position thinner than ever before, the Jets may need safeties, like rookie Ashtyn Davis, to play cornerback this weekend.
"It’s been brought up before of possibly throwing [Davis] out there. I think right now it’s all hands on deck," Gase explained. "I think we’ll try to try to keep him and Marcus [Maye] back there as much as we possibly can. I mean a lot would have to happen for him to go play corner."
READ: How the Jets Plan to Use Pat Elflein: 'There's a Lot of Value There'
Low on numbers at the position, Arthur Maulet and Corey Ballentine's numbers could be called as well.
Brought in last week after he was released by the New York Giants, Ballentine has yet to make his Jets debut. Instead of easing him in, Gase said they may have no choice but to thrust the 24-year-old into action on Sunday.
"We saw him as somebody that could maybe contribute on special teams quickly," Gase said. "We might need him to learn corner a little quicker, but that’s kind of what we saw as a starting point, a guy, a skill defensive position being able to help on special teams. We’re always looking for guys like that."
Bottom line, against rookie quarterback Justin Herbert and the Chargers' offense, New York's youthful secondary will be tested. Los Angeles, although their record is 2-7, is fourth in football with an average of 403.7 yards of offense per game. Herbert is ranked fourth among quarterbacks that have played in eight-plus games, averaging 291.6 yards per game.
Asked how scary it is as a coach to go into a game knowing three, potentially four, rookie defensive backs will be on the field, Gase smiled.
"Let’s go man. You’ve got Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Hunter Henry to worry about, we’ll be good to go."
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