With the Jets turning their attention to Sunday's season finale against the visiting Dolphins, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich provided a brief injury update on three starters and shed light on what led to two veterans – S Chuck Clark and K Greg Zuerlein – landing on injured reserve.
"Morgan Moses, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams will be the three we keep a close eye on this week.," Ulbrich said on Wednesday, referring to their availability to face Miami at MetLife Stadium. "Hopeful for all three, but we have to collect more information regarding them."
Moses, who's battled a knee issue throughout the season, exited Sunday's loss to the Bills after lining up in 28 snaps (44% playtime percentage). He was replaced at RT by Carter Warren, who finished the game with 35 reps (56%). The Jets are already down to their third starting LT in Max Mitchell because Tyron Smith and rookie Olu Fashanu are on IR.
After an extensive pregame workout in Western New York, Gardner (hamstring) made his 15th start. But he was forced to the sideline after 28 snaps (40%) and Brandin Echols finished the contest on the outside (41 snaps, 59%). Williams, also bothered by a hamstring ailment, started against Buffalo and had a played 43% (30 snaps). Solomon Thomas (29 snaps), Bruce Hector (27 snaps) and Leonard Taylor III (19 snaps) combined for 75 snaps.
Clark started his 12th game, against the Bills, and his 8 tackles were third on the team. But Clark, who tore his ACL prior to the 2023 season, tore his pec and was placed on IR Tuesday.
"It's crazy," Ulbrich said of Clark. "Here's a guy who played almost a historic amount of plays consecutively with Baltimore and then to have two back-to-back injuries like this, I know he's so frustrated and it couldn't happen to a better teammate and person on this team. Although I know how he's going to approach it and he'll be back better than ever."
Zuerlein, who initially went to IR on Oct. 30, returned to practice on Dec. 20 and was activated before last Sunday's game. But while the Jets never attempted a field goal or extra point in their 40-14 loss, P Thomas Morstead ended up handling kickoff duties.
"The last couple of weeks prior to opening his window, he started to feel healthy again and he was kicking, and he was kicking well," Ulbrich said of Zuerlein. "So we opened up the window, we kicked him. Last week, he was fantastic. He was, in my opinion, by far the best of the three so we thought that was the best option to go with on gameday. Unfortunately, right before the game, his back tightened up a little bit in warm-ups so that was it."
Greg Joseph, who was added to the active roster on Tuesday, will be the fifth kicker used by the team once the regular season wraps up against Miami. Ulbrich was also asked about QB Jordan Travis, the team's fifth-round pick from Florida State who was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list in August.
"His primary focus right now is getting healthy, so I don't really have any new information regarding his health," Ulbrich said of the rookie who sustained a fractured and dislocated ankle while playing for the Seminoles in a game against North Alabama on Nov. 18, 2023. "But I know he's working his butt off trying to get back. He's a guy we're all super-excited about still and the future that he has."
