Powell, possibly Forte, ruled out

The Jets will be without Bilal Powell for Saturday’s preseason opener against the Titans at MetLife Stadium, and they could be missing their top running back, too. Todd Bowles ruled Powell (neck) out after practice in Florham Park on Thursday and said starter Matt Forte (hamstring) is also in danger of missing the contest. “We’ll see tomorrow,” Bowles said of Forte, who hasn’t practiced fully since July 31. Powell suffered the injury on the first play of practice Aug. 4 and hasn’t participated in team drills since. Both he and Forte took handoffs in individual drills Thursday, but they weren’t on the field for the 11-on-11 periods, which were run at 75% speed. On Aug. 4, Powell received a handoff and ran to the right side on the first play of team drills. He sustained a big hit and went down in a heap. Trainers tended to him for several minutes before he got up and walked off the field. Bowles initially said Powell got “the wind knocked out of him.” But as Powell has continued to miss days of practice, Bowles revealed it was actually a neck injury. Forte is dealing with a tweaked hamstring during training camp for the second time in as many seasons with the Jets. The 31-year-old sat out the first two preseason games in 2016 before carrying the ball 10 times against the Giants in the Snoopy Bowl.

It’s unclear how severe his current hamstring injury is or how it compares to last season’s. Forte last spoke with the local media on report day, July 28. Repeated requests to interview the running back have been denied.