The New York Jets have been dealing with injury issues throughout the season, but it seems that they have finally caught a break.
Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich revealed on Friday, November 8 that the Jets will have their starting five offensive line back for the Week 10 Arizona Cardinals game.
The final injury report listed Morgan Moses (knee) and Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle) as questionable for the game. John Simpson, who left the Week 9 contest with a groin injury, did not have an injury designation for this game – meaning he will be good to go for the game as well.
That means Aaron Rodgers will have his full starting five offensive linemen with Tyron Smith at left tackle and Joe Tippmann at center good to go.
Jets Stand to Benefit With Some Quality Play Upfront
How big of an injury boost is this for the Jets?
The green and white are the only team in the NFL with two guards inside the top nine in pass block grade.
Simpson has a 76.7 and AVT has a 76.2, per Pro Football Focus.
Rodgers has been sacked 20 times through the first nine games of the season. That ranks No. 13 in the NFL in 2024, per ESPN.
The former four-time NFL MVP has been dealing with an array of lower-body ailments with his ankle and knee injuries this season. However, after a mini-bye, Rodgers is feeling healthier than he has all season long.
The rest is going to continue to benefit the Jets. In November, the Jets only play two games.
Gang Green travels to play the Arizona Cardinals on November 10 and they host the Indianapolis Colts on November 17 – that is the entire slate of games. The NFL schedule Gods are flipping the other way after some weird quirks in the first half of the season for the Jets. Plus they have the bye coming up in Week 12.
This time off should help the Jets get healthier on the injury report and get Rodgers’ sea legs back underneath him for the stretch run.
Jets Run Defense Is Going to Be Tested Big Time
While the Jets are getting healthier on one side of the ball, that isn’t the case on the other line of scrimmage.
Gang Green placed Leki Fotu on injured reserve, for a second time this season, and Solomon Thomas was a late scratch for the Cardinals game.
That leaves the Jets compromised on the interior of the defensive line. That would be tough in any game, let alone this contest versus the Cardinals.
James Connor is the No. 6 leading rusher in the NFL (664). Connor’s superpower is not going down on first contact. He leads the league in broken tackles (18), per Fantasy Pros. Connor also has the third most rushing yards in the NFL after contact (391).
Ulbrich in preparation for Connor did a special seminar video presentation on how the team should tackle him.
“He is an absolute problem. He is a guy that you have to stop early and often. You got to get population to the ball and get hats [on him]. I mean we did a whole tackling presentation, which we never do, on how to tackle this guy because he is unique in a lot of ways. It’s going to be a great challenge. If you don’t stop him, you don’t stop the Cardinals,” Ulbrich explained.
That task is going to be a little more difficult without some key bodies upfront.
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