TROUBLE AFOOT!
Promising young Jets RB McGuire to undergo surgery
The Jets are without their rookie quarterback at training camp right now, and they will be missing a promising young running back for a significant amount of time as well.
Elijah McGuire is scheduled to undergo surgery on his broken foot sometime early next week, the Daily News has learned. A timetable for his return is not yet known.
In his rookie season last year, McGuire ran for 315 yards and one touchdown and had 17 receptions for 177 yards and a TD.
The Jets signed two running backs in the offseason — Isaiah Crowell of the Browns and Thomas Rawls of the Seahawks — to join Bilal Powell and McGuire in the backfield after Matt Forte retired following the end of the 2017 season.
Powell and Forte shared the majority of the workload at running back last year, with McGuire's rushing total the third-highest on the team.
The second-year back received high praise out of mandatory minicamp this June, drawing comparisons to a Hall of Famer.
“He has the skillset to be a LaDainian Tomlinson, if he was given that opportunity,” Jets running backs coach Stump Mitchell said. “That's not what presents itself to him at this particular point in time. But skillset, he can do it all.”
A source confirmed that free-agent running back Alfred Morris will visit with the Jets, a potential replacement for McGuire.
The six-year pro was most recently with the Cowboys, rushing for 547 yards and a touchdown last season. Morris made back-to-back Pro Bowls with Washington in 2013 and 2014, surpassing one thousand rushing yards in both seasons.