The Jets' game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at hot and humid TIAA Bank Stadium today (1 p.m. ET kickoff) will provide two individual milestones: S Marcus Maye and LB Josh Martin are both active and in uniform for the first time this season.
Maye had been on the Jets' inactive list for the first three games with ankle/foot problems but had been running well at practice the past few weeks and was listed as questionable for this game. He will rejoin S Jamal Adams for the first time (except for the first half of the Giants preseason game) since the two then-rookies teamed up to start all 16 of the Green & White's games alongside each other last season.
Martin, a Jets special teams leader and a starter at outside linebacker in the second half of last season, had been sidelined all this season with a concussion, but he cleared the concussion protocol and was full-go at Thursday's and Friday's practices.
Thus, "New Jack City," the Jets' so-named secondary, will be together for the first time in a game and the defense will be as healthy as it's been all September, in time to take on QB Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville offense, which for the first time in three games will feature RB Leonard Fournette, who had been sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered in the Jaguars' opener vs. the Giants.
Meanwhile, rookie QB Sam Darnold will get his fourth NFL start against a very difficult Jaguars defense, some of whose members said during the week they are "licking [their] chops" for a chance to turn over Darnold and the Jets.
A victory will get the Jets back to .500 at 2-2 and send them flying into their three-game homestand that begins next Sunday against Denver. A loss to the 2-1 Jags would drop them to 1-3 and turn up the pressure to get back into the win column against the Broncos, Colts and Vikings.
The Jets' seven inactives today are:
- WR Charone Peake
- CB Derrick Jones
- CB Juston Burris
- LB Frankie Luvu
- G Dakota Dozier
- TE Neal Sterling
- DL Folorunso Fatukasi
The Jaguars' inactives:
- WR Rashad Greene
- CB D.J. Hayden
- RB Brandon Wilds
- DT Eli Ankou
- OL Chris Reed
- OL Will Richardson
- DE Dewaune Smoot
The Jets are wearing green jerseys and white pants today, not surprising for an expected hot day on Florida's "First Coast," with the Jaguars in their white unis with teal trim. This is the Jets' 18th game under head coach Todd Bowles wearing green/white, and their third time in green/white on the road since 2015. The other two games: the win at Dallas in '15 and the loss at Miami last year.
Today's referee is Clay Martin. This is Martin's first Jets game as referee. He was promoted to ref this season after working as an NFL umpire since 2015.
Top Photos of the Pregame Festivities from Week 4