Jets' Rookie Denzel Mims Is Set To Return vs. Rams
After sitting out against the Seahawks due to a family emergency last week, Jets rookie wide receiver Denzel Mims is poised to make his return this weekend against the Rams.
Mims is back with the team and has returned to the league's COVID-19 protocols, Jets head coach Adam Gase confirmed on Monday.
"I think we’re good to go today [for practice]," Gase said on Wednesday. "We’re good to go today, because he started (testing) on Friday."
The 23-year-old wideout traveled home last week, making him ineligible for Sunday's game due to the NFL's testing regulations. While he was healthy and by all means able to participate, he wasn't around for enough time to have a sufficient amount of negative COVID-19 tests before game day.
Mims' absence wasn't the only reason New York struggled mightily on offense in Seattle but it was certainly part of the equation. Jets quarterback Sam Darnold threw for only 132 yards against a team that averaged a league-worst total of passing yards allowed per game entering Week 14.
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New York's top receiver Jamison Crowder, who was questionable throughout the week with a calf injury, had only two catches for a grand total of seven yards. It was speedster Braxton Berrios who led the way on Sunday for the Jets, making three catches for 49 yards.
Mims made his NFL debut back in Week 7 after starting the season sidelined due to injury. In his first six games, he's snagged 19 receptions (on 36 targets) while totaling 324 receiving yards. Mims is just the seventh wideout since the NFL merger in 1970 to start his career with six straight games of 40 receiving yards or more.
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The final three weeks of the season serve as an opportunity for New York to continue to evaluate their former second-rounder and develop schemes that best fit the wide receiver moving forward into next season.
With plenty of cap space this offseason, perhaps the Jets will add an additional weapon to work alongside Mims and Crowder in 2021. That has the potential to be a dangerous group, especially if the Jets land presumptive top pick Trevor Lawrence at quarterback in next spring's draft.
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