It take fairly a bit to wipe the smile off of Robert Saleh’s face.
Then once more, the Jets eternal-optimist head coach was dealt fairly a bit on Monday with the devastating medical information that rookie operating again Breece Corridor (torn ACL) and indispensable offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker (torn triceps) are out for the remainder of the season after accidents they sustained in Sunday’s win over the Broncos.
Saleh wasted no time on the high of his weekly Zoom name Monday with reporters and delivered the information together with his voice low and his eyes staring down at his damage report as if he hoped it was only a unhealthy dream and would go away.
Saleh indicated proper after the sport that the information on Corridor, who was having a season that seemed prefer it might finish with league Rookie of the 12 months honors, was not good. However he by no means hinted that there was related concern about Vera-Tucker, who was taking part in his third place on the offensive line this season (proper deal with) when he was injured within the second quarter.
“It’s all the time robust,’’ Saleh mentioned glumly. “These are two potential Professional Bowlers between Breece and AVT. [But] it’s the NFL and it’s subsequent man up.”
Because it turned out, the subsequent man up for the Jets was normal supervisor Joe Douglas, who acted rapidly on Monday and bought the group one other operating again, James Robinson from the Jaguars.
Good for Douglas, who’s carried out his half to earn the nickname “Dealer Joe.’’
Douglas, the subsequent man up, reportedly traded a 2023 sixth-round choose to the Jaguars that may turn out to be a fifth-rounder relying on Robinson’s manufacturing.
Robinson was accessible with Travis Etienne having simply bumped him from the No. 1 place within the Jacksonville backfield. However he’s been a productive again.
Robinson rushed for 1,070 yards and 7 touchdowns in his rookie season (2020) and added 49 catches and three extra touchdowns receiving. Final season, he ran for 767 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 31 passes. This season, he has 340 dashing yards and three touchdowns on 81 carries and 9 receptions and a rating.
Robinson, who’s 24 and is scheduled to turn out to be a restricted free agent after this season, has averaged 4.5 yards per carry in his profession. A two-way operating again like him needs to be match into offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s operating again rotation.
This transfer from Douglas comes every week earlier than the Nov. 1 buying and selling deadline, which has historically been an lively interval for him, having made a minimum of one transfer in every of the previous three seasons at or across the deadline.
These strikes, although, had been extra about buying and selling away gamers to achieve draft capital to construct the group. Jets followers have waited patiently for the previous few years as Douglas amassed draft picks he might use to commerce up within the draft for gamers he coveted.
Douglas used a few of that draft capital to commerce up and choose Vera-Tucker 14th general in 2021 and all Vera-Tucker has carried out since is turn out to be the perfect, most versatile participant on their line — arguably their MVP via the primary seven video games this season.
In final April’s draft, Douglas traded picks to commerce up and pluck Corridor at No. 36 general, and all Corridor did was turn out to be the group’s greatest offensive participant.
Now Douglas has neatly pivoted his strategy and made a commerce for a participant that may assist his group win now.
Is Robinson Barry Sanders or Curtis Martin?
In fact not.
Have been there some higher choices on the market?
Cleveland’s Kareem Hunt, who in accordance with current experiences is a participant the Browns are listening to gives for, has rushed for 3,820 yards and 31 TDs in his six NFL seasons, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, was most likely essentially the most achieved of the potential candidates Douglas thought-about. However he additionally was most likely going to value much more than a conditional sixth-round choose.
Douglas needed to go get one other operating again.
Michael Carter was the group’s characteristic again as a rookie, dashing for 639 yards, 4 TDs and catching 36 passes final season. He and Corridor had been an ideal complement to one another, with Corridor a game-breaker and Carter a grinder who by no means will get tackled by the primary defender who touches him. However in 21 profession video games, Carter has rushed for greater than 100 yards in a recreation simply as soon as.
Ty Johnson has terrific velocity and may be explosive, however he’s by no means rushed for greater than 273 yards in a season in three-plus years within the league. And, if he had been that good, the Jets by no means would by no means have traded as much as draft Corridor.
The purpose right here is that, whereas the Jets had some strong choices remaining of their operating again room, they had been all the time going to wish extra the second they discovered Corridor was carried out for the 12 months.
Douglas was the person to ship, and he did it swiftly.
Subsequent man up.
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