New York will be without Breece Hall and Adonai Mitchell when it faces Cleveland on Sunday, Aaron Glenn said Friday.
Hall is dealing with a quadriceps injury, while Mitchell has a finger issue. Mitchell was hurt in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers and has totaled nine catches for 123 yards this season. Hall went down in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions and has produced 163 rushing yards with one rushing touchdown.
The absences come at a rough time for a Jets team that has stumbled badly after its Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans. Since then, New York has lost to the Packers, Lions and Chicago Bears, and the results have left Glenn with only four wins in his time as head coach.
Last week’s loss to Chicago was as lopsided as it gets. The Bears had 34 first downs, more than the Jets managed offensive plays.
Chicago piled up 492 yards, held the ball for 42:45 and ran 89 plays. New York finished with 157 yards, 17:15 of possession and just 32 snaps.
That 57-play gap is the biggest in a game since the Browns’ first season back in the NFL in 1999.
Even with the ugly numbers and the losing record, Glenn’s job does not appear to be in immediate danger. He is close with Jets owner Woody Johnson, and that relationship dates back to 2000, when Johnson bought the team and Glenn was a star cornerback.
“[We have] very positive conversations,” Glenn said. “We speak after the games all the time and he gives me his thoughts.
I give him the rundown on how things go. I mean, that's the beauty of our relationship is being able to have open dialogue with each other, throwing everything on the table.
There's also a trust factor there.”
He added: “I'm fortunate to be able to have the relationship I do have with the owner of this football team. He's one of the reasons why everybody -- players, everybody -- wants to do everything to bust their ass in practice to try to accumulate these wins because of how he operates with us.”
Glenn’s 4-17 mark is the second-worst through 21 games in franchise history. Rich Kotite was worse, opening 3-18 before finishing 4-28 in 1995 and 1996.
Cleveland comes in at 3-1 in Todd Monken’s first season, a sharp contrast to last year’s struggles. The Browns have already looked like a team with a different edge, while New York is still searching for that same turnaround.
If the Jets are going to have a shot Sunday, Geno Smith has to keep taking care of the football and keep the offense moving. In his second stint with New York, Smith has thrown for 902 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, while completing 72.6% of his passes.
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Jets Face Growing Questions Over Adonai Mitchell Injury Handling
Adonai Mitchell has already missed the last two weeks with an undisclosed finger injury, and his absence is starting to raise more than routine availability questions for the Jets. The third-year receiver was ruled out for the upcoming game, and he has not practiced recently, leaving the team to manage a situation that has lingered without much clarity while the offense waits for another healthy option at receiver.
What has made the injury even more of a talking point is the uncertainty around its severity and the lack of any injured reserve move despite Mitchell missing multiple games. Reports have suggested the finger may be broken and could require surgery, but Aaron Glenn has pushed back on that line of thinking, leaving the Jets with a gap between the public explanation and the broader speculation around how serious this really is. [Read more 🡒]