© Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com
Two Studs Working Way Back, Could Be Ready for Jets-Bills Monday Night Football Opener
The highly-anticipated Monday Night Football opener features a pair of AFC East rivals who both lost a key player to a season—ending ACL injury last year.
The New York Jets saw running back Breece Hall's promising rookie campaign, which featured 681 scrimmage yards in 6.5 games, come to a screeching halt during a Week 7 win over the Denver Broncos.
Meanwhile, two-time Super Bowl champion Von Miller totaled 8.0 sacks in his first 10+ games with the Buffalo Bills before tearing his knee ligament in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.
Progressing satisfactorily on the road to recovery, both Hall and Miller could possibly return in time for the Week 1 AFC East showdown at MetLife Stadium.
Jets' head coach Robert Saleh sounded hopeful when speaking about Hall's potential Week 1 availability.
"I'm very optimistic on that one [Hall returning for the opener]. I don't want to jinx it," said Saleh prior to a May 31 practice. "The kid's already hitting over 22 [mph] on the GPS, so he looks freaking good."
Hall, who spoke to reporters later that day, wasn't ready to make any Namath-like guarantees.
"I'll be ready when I'll be ready," said Hall. "Obviously I hope I'm ready [for Week 1], but you never know."
As a first-year pro, Hall showed an explosiveness that yielded 5.8 yards per carry and 11.5 yards per reception in 2022. He totaled 28 first downs and five touchdowns on 99 touches as a rookie.
Still less than eight months from the injury, Hall shouldn't expect a full workload for the Jets this summer. He hasn't fully participated in an OTAs practice yet.
"I'm excited for him to get back on the field," said Saleh. "I feel like he won’t need to be limited during training camp, even though we still will, just to be conscientious and cautious with him, but he looks awesome."
Meanwhile, Miller, who has 123.5 career sacks and a Super Bowl MVP under his belt, incited speculation of an earlier-than-expected return to the lineup while speaking to 9NEWS in Denver last week.
“You know I love guarantees. It’s me, it’s Von. I love guarantees. I want to play. In 2013, I had (ACL) surgery in January and I played at the beginning of August in the preseason. So that put me around seven months, eight months," said Miller to the television station's Mike Klis. "And 10 years removed from that, 2023, I have a whole new outlook. I know exactly where I’m supposed to be at two months, four months, six months and in the position where I’m at now, I feel great, I feel comfortable. I feel like I’ll be ready to go at the start of the season."
Bills' EDGE Von Miller
Chris Pedota - USA TODAY Network
Hall and Miller's potential comebacks add another layer to a tremendously juicy season—opening affair.
It'll be Aaron Rodgers's first real game as a Jet and it just happens to be in primetime.
With Josh Allen and the defending three-time AFC East champion Bills as the opponent, the MNF battle features two star signal callers and the outcome could be a determining factor in the race for the division crown come January.
As if there wasn't already enough emotion built into the matchup, the game is scheduled for the 22nd anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The World Trade Center site lies only 15 miles away from the Jets' home stadium.
The Bills currently stand as a 1.5-point road favorite over the Jets at most major sportsbooks. The two rivals split the 2022 regular season series with Gang Green bottling up Buffalo's high-octane offense for the most part.
READ MORE:
Jets' RB Breece Hall Back by Week 1?
Bills' Von Miller Talks Aaron Rodgers, Stacked AFC East on 'Draft Kickoff Live'
Sportsbook Lists New York Jets as Serious Threat to Buffalo Bills
Another Analyst Tabs Jets-Bills Matchup Must-See Affair
Rodgers Heavily Affects AFC East Quarterback Hierarchy
Like Jets Country on Facebook 👍
