Joint Practice - Commanders Up

Edition #671

Good morning ☕

Is it time to start worrying? Everything is going well in terms of the offence and defence, but there are two big questions that remain unanswered. When will Haason Reddick actually show up to camp? Will he even show to camp or will this holdout starting filtering into the season? When will Mike Williams be moved off the PUP list? Will he be ready for opening night against San Francisco.

Those are pretty big questions that impact both sides of the ball. Reddick and Williams were two of the marquee additions this off-season, designed to push the Jets over the top, but right now we’ve not seen either in team activities. Williams has been running and catching passes, but it still remains unclear how far away he is.

🟢 ESPN ran an article on the biggest camp battle for each and every NFL team. For the Jets, it’s all about that #2 receiver position according to Rich Cimini: “Garrett Wilson is the clear-cut WR1. After him, there are questions galore. Right now, Allen Lazard is starting on the opposite side, but he's viewed as a placeholder until Mike Williams is activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Lazard, who received a four-year, $44 million contract in 2023, is off to a promising start in camp after a 23-catch season. He also has Aaron Rodgers' stamp of approval (they were teammates in Green Bay), which never hurts. But let's be realistic: He's not on the same level as Williams. The question with Williams is, can he be the same player he was before ACL surgery last fall? Rodgers needs a viable No. 2 option to balance the field.”

⚪ There was no Haason Reddick again yesterday, meaning the holdout has now officially reached 14 days. So that fine is getting pretty significant now. Just on the daily fines, Reddick is now at $700k. With everything else, it’s above that $1 million mark and climbing every single day. The talk of a breakthrough seemed premature. Saleh will say that he’s not concerned, but we’re getting into the business end of training camp now and who knows what kind of shape Reddick is in. You’d hope he’s staying ready, but who really knows.

🟢 Who are the best defensive coordinators heading into the new season? Well according to PFF, Steve Spagnuolo in Kansas is the head honcho and Jeff Ulbrich doesn’t even make the top 10. I think part of the issue for Jeff is that you never know how much is him and how much is Robert Saleh. Still, the Jets have consistently been an outstanding unit and are expected to be a top-5 defense this year, so not having Ulbrich in your top-10 is a glaring omission to me!

⚪ Braelon Allen is a very impressive young man and he was talking to the media this weekend: "The expectation for me is to be that bruiser and run with more power and low pads and just impose my will on people," Allen said. "As I've grown over the years, that's become more, more of the emphasis." As well as what he does with the ball in his hands, Allen is also focusing on his blocking, someone that kept rookie Izzy Abanikanda off the field last year: "I wouldn't necessarily say, I'm the best in the world at it, but it's something that I've grown a lot in, especially over the past year," Allen, who will wear No. 0 in green and white, said. "But it's something that I take seriously and take a lot of pride in and something that I do want to be the best at. So, like I said, it's a work in progress and just trying to develop that skill every day."

🟢 Jermaine Johnson was asked about what’s in store ahead of year three - "We'll see," Johnson said after Monday's practice. "That's what camp is for and these preseason joint practices coming up. I always say take the new car out for a spin. Can't see it until you take it to the track." He added of joint practices: "I love it. You get annoyed of hitting your own guys. It doesn't really interest you too much, but when you see a different color out there, at least for me, it's time to bang."

⚪ The Jets released their first depth chart yesterday. I don’t tend to read too much into these things as a lot can change between now and the season, especially with multiple joint practices and three pre-season games to come. Some notable things though. Max Mitchell is listed as the primary backup for RT over Carter Warren. Xavier Gipson is ahead of Corley with Allen Lazard listed as the other starting WR alongside Wilson, that will change once Williams is healthy. Braelon Allen is listed as RB2, Michael Clemons is listed as a starting EDGE, that will change if Reddick ever shows up. Chuck Clark and Tony Adams are listed as the two starting safeties as expected.

• Tyron Smith was off to the side again yesterday with tightness, nothing serious and Saleh said that Smith will be back in on Tuesday.