Nick Mangold will sit out once again this week. Mangold is still recovering from an ankle sprain, and will be replaced by Wesley Johnson who has done well in his place. Both Ryan Clady and Muhammad Wilkerson will play today. Wilkerson and Clady didn’t participate in practice this week and were listed as questionable. Newly signed running back C.J. Spiller will make his debut for the Jets, while tight end Eric Tomlinson will not. The Jets signed C.J. Spiller after he was released from the Seattle Seahawks. Tomlinson was signed from the Texans’ practice squad.
Other inactives include: Darron Lee, Bruce Carter, Kellen Davis, Brent Qvale, and Christian Hackenberg
Both Darron Lee and Bruce Carter remain inactive. Lee is dealing with an ankle injury and Carter has a quad injury. This means that it will likely be David Harris and Julian Stanford again in the base defense. The Jets are pretty banged up at linebacker.
The Jets signed tight end Eric Tomlinson from the Texans’ practice squad after Kellen Davis suffered an elbow injury in practice. Tomlinson wasn’t signed until late in the week, leaving him little time to prepare. the Jets will only have two active tight ends, Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Brandon Bostick.
With Ryan Clady in the lineup, the Jets will have less concern over having Brent Qvale out for today’s game. Qvale is still recovering from a neck injury and will likely be out another week or two. Ben Ijalana is the next man up if Clady can’t continue to play.
Christian Hackenberg will continue to hold the clip board. Brandon Marshall was seen spending 15 minutes during warm ups running routes for Hackenberg. It seems that he’s doing all he can to absorb the playbook and stay sharp. It was the right call for Bowles to keep Hackenberg out of the game for this season, he has a lot of learning to do.
The Jets will look to win three straight today at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi can set an NFL record if he records 200 rushing yards today. No running back in the Super Bowl era has rushed for 200 yards three games in a row. the Jets haven’t allowed a running back to record 200 yards rushing since 1990. It’s likely going to be a trench war today, with both teams grinding it out of the turf. Both teams are desperate for a win. The Jets will want to head home 4-5 with the prospect of entering the bye week at 5-5 if they take care of the Los Angeles Rams. With a couple more wins, the Jets could re-enter the playoff race as fringe candidates. With a couple more losses, their season is effectively over. Every game is a big game now for the Jets.