New York Jets Denzel Mims Hurts Hamstring Again Ahead of Week 1 at the Buffalo Bills
Hopes of integrating Denzel Mims into the offense for this Sunday’s season opener at the Buffalo Bills took a huge blow on Thursday as the rookie hurt his hamstring. The wide receiver is likely out for the Jets Week 1 game and possibly for the foreseeable future.
This latest injury came after Mims had just recovered from another hamstring injury that had held him out of the majority of training camp. He had only just returned to practice late last week.
Jets head coach Adam Gase said there is a chance that Mims will be moved to the Injured Reserve (IR) after a second hamstring injury in a little over a month.
“I thought he was headed in the right direction, mentally. It’s a shame because yesterday, I thought when we were doing routes versus air, I was seeing him really coming off the ball,” Gase said.
“The way he was running, the way he was executing some of the routes we were doing. I was getting fired up, getting him in practice and seeing – I think the first day, he was a little tentative on Wednesday. Yesterday I thought he was juicing it up pretty good. Had to pull him out.”
The Jets were counting on Mims to be a major part of their offense. A second round pick, the Jets had originally traded with the Seattle Seahawks in April’s NFL Draft, moving back 11 spaces and acquiring the No. 59 selection. They used this pick on Mims, one of the top wide receivers in the draft class.
It was hailed as quite the coup at the time with the Jets moving back, collecting more draft capital and still selecting a player in Mims who was considered one of the best playmakers available.
As a senior at Baylor in 2019, he had 66 catches for 1,020 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Without Mims, the next man up for the Jets is likely Chris Hogan. The veteran, signed in training camp as the Jets went through a rash of injuries at wide receiver, has earned positive reviews from Gase.
The two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots is coming off a down season in 2019 where he struggled with injuries.
Hogan will likely be lined-up next to slot receiver Jamison Crowder and Breshad Perriman, signed this offseason from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
