Change has been in focus for head coach Robert Saleh this offseason and it remains on center stage as he navigates the Jets' tough stretch playing three games in 11 days.
Saleh first tweaked the practice schedule throughout training camp, which resulted in roughly 300 more snaps for the offense. Heading into Thursday's home opener, Saleh has again tweaked the schedule as he searches for his first win on Thursday night as a head coach.
"I'll be honest with you, we're still trying to figure it out, too," Saleh said on Tuesday. "It's not like we've had [success on Thursday] around here. We tried things that we've done in the past at San Fran, whose had success, and it hasn't worked out. We're trying a couple of things this week to see if we can change up our schedule a little to see if we can get our guys going a little bit. "Thursday Night Football" was part of the study in the offseason to see if we can get the ball rolling a little bit quicker."
The Jets have been outscored by 101-53 on Thursday night over the last three seasons, but they've played their third-string quarterbacks in two of the three matchups – Josh Johnson in 2021 (Mike White sustained an elbow injury in the first quarter) and Trevor Siemian last season.
The defense may be without its quarterback, C. J. Mosley, on Thursday as he's dealing with a toe injury sustained in the second quarter Sunday. LB Jamien Sherwood, who co-led the team with 9 tackles Sunday, would start if Mosley can't go.
"Super comfortable with Jamien," Saleh said. "He's does a phenomenal job developing as a professional football player. Full confidence in him to call the defense, make the checks that need to be made. He has elite mental speed and elite communication skills. Not worried about him playing ball at all."
Cornerbacks D.J. Reed (knee), who did not play in Week 2, and Michael Carter II (ankle) are progressing, but the Jets may wait until gameday to determine their availability, along with Mosley.
"[Tuesday] we're going to go through a full-speed individual workout, which will tell us a lot about where they're at," Saleh said. "To get their bodies moving and try to get rid of some of that lactic acid from the game, but it's a little bit tougher on a short week."
The Jets haven't placed edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II on injured reserve yet although Johnson did post on social media and said his MRI results confirmed he ruptured his Achilles tendon in Sunday's win. With the Pro Bowler out of the lineup, Eric Watts could make his NFL debut. Watts (6-5, 277), an undrafted free agent out of UConn, has been inactive for the first two games.
"We have full confidence in him to go out and play football at a high level," Saleh said. "He's big, he's long. He's young, so you're going to go through some bumps, but our philosophy, especially on defense, is to play those young guys, let them go through their bumps and eventually you've got a good one. We have all the confidence in the world in our entire D-line room."
Second-year DE Will McDonald IV, who had 3 sacks last Sunday, could also receive a heavier workload without Johnson.
Offensively, WR Mike Williams could play more Thursday as his snap count increased from 9 in Week 1 to 37 in Week 2.
"He feels good," Saleh said of Williams, whose 1 catch (19 yards on second-and-16) helped set up the game-winning score in Nashville. "That was one of the first questions we asked him yesterday. He had 35 snaps from my understanding. He wants more. His body feels good, so we're going to continue to get him the ball."
