Tony

Adams

Gardner missed Week 14 with a hamstring injury and was on the injury report leading up to Week 15 before being able to suit up. With near-freezing temperatures in New Jersey on Sunday, the Jets may be being cautious with their young quarterback, but Gardner is on the bench without a helmet and bundled up under a big jacket. Safety Tony Adams is also questionable to return to the game with an ankle injury. Those would be big losses for an already depleted Jets defense.

Asked about Adams’ benching in a presser today, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said “I can’t be sitting here talking about things that may or may not have happened. Mr. Johnson and myself have great dialogue, consistent dialogue, we talk all the time and we have very honest conversations and I’d like to keep those conversations between the two of us.” Uh huh, that’s normal. Well, normal for the Jets anyway.

The Jets are dealing with a plethora of injury issues, and also placed Allen Lazard and Leki Fotu on injured reserve earlier Thursday. With Mosley out, Chazz Surratt should see the bulk of snaps at his linebacker position with Surratt playing through a heel injury.

Backup safety Ashtyn Davis is out with a concussion. The Jets are severely banged up on defense heading into a do-or-die matchup with the Texans. A loss will send their already dwindling playoff hopes down the drain. Adams has five pass breakups, two TFLs, and one sack this year.

In addition to Fotu, DBs Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion) did not practice on Tuesday. The non-participation is a troubling sign that all three defenders will be inactive on a short week against the Texans for Thursday Night Football Week 9.

Adams’ absence is a slight boon for Mac Jones and the New England passing offense. The Jets will continue splitting the backfield workload between Dalvin Cook and Breece Hall with Abanikanda inactive.

The Jets will be without their starting safety against a New England passing offense that has vastly improved since last season. Pro Football Focus grades the Jets defense as the NFL’s second best coverage unit through Week 2.