Friday's practice had some players shuffling along the offensive line compared to the first two practices of training camp.

Rookie LT Olu Fashanu took reps in place of LT Tyron Smith (rest day) and it was the first day RG Alijah Vera-Tucker took snaps in team periods after being limited to individual drills.

"It feels great man," said Vera-Tucker who ruptured his Achilles tendon against the Broncos in Week 5 last season. "Just being out there with the guys, that's the main thing you miss when you're unable to be outside with the boys. Just really grateful to be outside with the team now and officially taking team reps felt really good out there."

Head coach Robert Saleh, who described Vera-Tucker after practice as an elite guard, said the former first-round pick will be on a pitch count in team periods.

Fashanu, the No. 11 overall pick in April's draft, lined up in place of Smith for the first time this summer and has been working exclusively at left tackle.

"It's simple," the rookie tackle said of his goals for training camp. "Just get better. I feel like one of my biggest strengths is that I'm really self-aware and I know that I still have a lot of things to work on but thankfully I'm in a great O-line room."

He added: "Obviously, this is this is my dream. Just getting out there, competing with the guys, getting better every day, getting coached by Coach [Keith] Carter and all the other tackles and O-linemen like Tyron and Morgan [Moses], it's been awesome."

Saleh said of the 21-year-old: "Olu is going to be a really good football player in this league and all of those reps are extremely valuable."

Red Zone
Practice ended with a move-the-ball red-zone period in which quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor each led scoring drives.

Rodgers connected with former Packers WR Malik Taylor on a slant off the left side for an easy score and later tossed a touchdown pass to TE Tyler Conklin by the middle of the goal line to end practice. Fellow TE Jeremy Ruckert found paydirt on a pass from Tyrod Taylor.

"When you're playing a veteran like that, everything is faster," HC Robert Saleh said. "You've got to make decisions faster, you have to know exactly what you're seeing and you've got Aaron, who can make decisions very quickly. You have Tyrod who can make decisions very quickly and they both create off-schedule, which becomes a nightmare. It was good to see the offense operate in the red zone and at the speed in which they were operating."

Xavier Gipson Expected to Miss 1-to-2 Weeks
During Thursday's session, WR-KR Xavier Gipson sustained a lower body injury. Gipson didn't practice Friday and HC Robert Saleh said he could miss 1-to-2 weeks with a leg ailment. With Gipson on the mend, rookie Malachi Corley, the team's third-round pick from Western Kentucky, will be one of the players who is expected to get more action. Corley, a playmaker in college, is making a significant transition to the pro game when it comes to of route refinement.

"It's getting there, still has a long way to go," Saleh said of the third-round pick. "With Xavier being down a week or so, it's going to be a great opportunity for him to get a lot of reps over the next couple of weeks. And it's going to be on him to put in the extra work which he does and to find a way to get better every single day."

Offensive lineman Jake Hanson (leg) could also miss a couple of weeks while CB Brandin Echols departed this afternoon's session.

Jetcetera
RB Breece Hall had a long gain up the middle early in team action. … LB Jamien Sherwood forced a fumble from RB Isiah Davis in 7-on-7. … Rookie S Jaylen Key intercepted QB Andrew Peasley in 7-on-7. LB Jackson Sirmon followed suit on the very next play, wrestling the ball away from TE Kevin Foelsch. … Former Memphis Showboats CB Nehemiah Shelton gave the defensive reserves a win in the red zone with an interception of Peasley. … Aaron Rodgers threaded the needle over the middle to Allen Lazard with tight coverage from Sauce Gardner. … Kenny Yeboah and Peasley connected for a big gain down the sideline.

While the Jets will wisely play the long game with LT Tyron Smith, Robert Saleh emphasized the importance of a collective callus. "We're not trying to revisit the Junction Boys (Bear Bryant's legendary 1954 summer camp at Texas A&M), but we're also this new performance model where load management – I think sometimes especially with the O-line – I think there is a detraining that's happening that's leaving them susceptible to injury. But it's stuff we've been studying. We have a plan in place."

With Rodgers back and the Jets in Year 2 under OC Nathaniel Hackett, the pace of practice has picked up. "We're pacing significantly more plays, but it's also more comfort with the offense," Saleh said. "The offensive guys are getting in and out of the huddle quicker, it's a lot more crisper getting in and out of the huddle, they're a lot more comfortable with the cadence, they're understanding of the offense and what their job is. So, things are happening a lot faster."