The New York Jets got the kind of Week 1 win they needed, but it came with a costly hit to the secondary.
New York opened the season by beating the Tennessee Titans, 23-10, yet safety Minkah Fitzpatrick left the game with a groin injury in the first quarter. He was on the field for just six snaps before going down, and the early look of the injury had to worry everyone watching.
Now there’s a clearer picture, and it isn’t a good one for the Jets. Fitzpatrick is expected to miss 2-3 weeks, according to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, who wrote on X, “Sources: #Jets S Minkah Fitzpatrick, who suffered a groin injury during Sunday’s win over the Titans, is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. Fitzpatrick was a major addition to the defense this offseason but played just six snaps on Sunday,”
That’s a rough turn for a player New York brought in to steady a defense that struggled badly a year ago. The Jets were ranked 31st last season in opponent points per game, and Fitzpatrick’s arrival was supposed to help change that. He came in as a three-time First-team All-Pro, the kind of addition that was meant to bring some immediate relief to a unit that needed it.
Instead, the Jets will have to get through the next stretch without him. If that recovery window holds, the earliest Fitzpatrick could return would be when New York travels to Chicago to face the Bears.
For a team trying to move on from its abysmal 3-14 record in 2025, the injury is an early setback. And with injuries already stacking up around the league after Week 1, the Jets are now part of a problem nobody wants to see grow.
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