The New York Jets are finally getting a little healthier at wide receiver, and that alone changes the feel of their offense.
Omar Cooper Jr. is set to return to practice this week after completing the minimum four-game stay on injured reserve, and head coach Aaron Glenn made the announcement on Wednesday. Whether the first-round pick is actually ready for Sunday’s Week 6 matchup with the New England Patriots is still uncertain, but the Jets at least have a path back to the player they lost in the opening stretch of the season.
That absence has mattered. New York has been desperately thin at the position to start 2026, with Adonai Mitchell sidelined since Week 2 and veteran Tim Patrick landing on injured reserve before the season even got going. Cooper’s injury only added to the damage, wiping out the early glimpse of what this passing game might look like at full strength.
The Jets still have a ways to go before Garrett Wilson, Mitchell, and Cooper are all on the field together, but Cooper’s return to practice is the first step toward that group actually taking shape.
Glenn didn’t promise anything beyond that on Wednesday. As a rookie, Cooper may need practice reps before the Jets decide he’s ready for game action, and the coach compared the situation to fellow Hoosier draft pick D'Angelo Ponds’ longer absence over the summer.
Even with the missed time, there’s already one clear reminder of why Cooper was such an intriguing addition. In his rookie debut against the Tennessee Titans, he caught one pass and turned it into a 30-yard gain. That burst after the catch was one of his defining traits coming out of college, and it’s the kind of playmaking New York has been missing while the offense has looked so vanilla.
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Christian Gonzalez also returned to practice and is expected to be ready for the Jets, while left tackle Will Campbell appears to be back in the mix after earlier injury concerns. For New York, which has Dylan Parham, Breece Hall, Adonai Mitchell and Joseph Ossai all unlikely to play, the injury report is starting to look more like a disadvantage than the break the Jets were hoping to catch. [Read more 🡒]