Jets' Denzel Mims Ruled Out vs. Seahawks Due to Family Emergency
When the Jets travel to Seattle this weekend, still in pursuit of their first win in 2020, they will be without their standout rookie wide receiver Denzel Mims.
Mims is currently managing a "personal issue" and after traveling home to Texas, the rookie wideout won't be eligible to play on Sunday due to COVID-19 protocols, Jets head coach Adam Gase revealed on Thursday.
The 23-year-old may be physically ready and able to play this weekend, but since he has yet to return to East Rutherford, he won't be tested a sufficient amount of times before Sunday's game.
"Obviously he's been trending in the right direction, he's been a big reason why we've had some better games since he's been playing," Gase said in a Zoom call on Thursday. "Protocols are what they are and he had to handle family business which we support because we felt like that was the right thing for him to do."
Since he made his professional debut in Week 7, Mims been one of the best young wideouts in the league and a spark for this Jets offense. Through six games, Mims has 19 catches and 324 total receiving yards. The Baylor product and second-rounder from this year's draft has been targeted 36 times thus far.
This will be the first week Mims has been sidelined since he made his debut. All eyes are now on quarterback Sam Darnold and New York's remaining starting receivers (Jamison Crowder and Breshad Perriman) against the Seahawks' defense. Seattle has allowed the second-most yards per game through 12 games this season (407.4).
Mims has had 40-plus receiving yards in each of his first six career games. He's just the seventh player since the NFL merger in 1970 to start his career with six straight games of 40 receiving yards or more.
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