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Jet would like more from Wilkerson but injuries may keep him out Sunday
The Jets have considered giving Muhammad Wilkerson a new title: NFL’s highest-paid cheerleader.
His production has fallen off so far and he has practiced so little of late because of multiple nagging injuries, the Jets have toyed with the idea of shelving the highly paid defensive lineman.
Coach Todd Bowles admitted as much on Friday, as the hobbled and unproductive Wilkerson completed another practice-less week following another no-show performance.
“There’s been a thought,” Bowles said. “We discuss it dayby-day and week-by-week, and we’ll go from there.”
The 27-year-old Wilkerson, a two-time All-Pro who signed a five-year deal worth up to $86 million in the summer of 2016, is dealing with two injuries: A grade 1 AC joint sprain in his shoulder and an undisclosed toe injury on his right foot. He has been listed as questionable for Sunday’s game at Miami, and will be a game-time decision, as he was last Sunday against the Patriots.
Bowles said the injuries “aren’t getting any worse,” but they aren’t necessarily getting better, either. Wilkerson, the team’s highest-paid player, is battling the ailments daily, according to the coach. He hurt the shoulder in Week 2 against the Raiders, and the toe against the Browns in Week 5. He hasn’t practiced since the latest malady.
Bowles doesn’t like to make players active who don’t practice at all during the week, for chemistry reasons, but he has made an exception with Wilkerson because of how familiar he is in the team’s defensive system and the amount of experience he has in his seventh NFL season.
“If he’s capable of playing, we’ll play him,” the coach said. “We don’t make anybody play that doesn’t want to play. ... It’s been thought of [to give him a rest], but it’s been good enough to play on Sunday thus far. We’ll see this Sunday.”
Wilkerson hasn’t made excuses for his sub-par play, and lately he won’t even address it, telling reporters to talk to Bowles about his injuries. The coach defended the lack of production from Wilkerson and Leonard Williams earlier in the week — neither has a sack — saying they are “playing hard” and “playing well.”
“I’m not disappointed in those two at all,” he said.
Williams, a former first-round pick in his third season, was expected to be a breakout per- former, but he has just six quarterback hits and not a single tackle for a loss while being slowed by a bone bruise in his left wrist.
The admission by Bowles regarding Wilkerson would indicate the injuries are hindering him. Not only does he not have a sack, but Wilkerson is without a single quarterback hit and has just one tackle for loss. He appeared in 53 of the defense’s 68 snaps in Sunday’s loss to the Patriots, and was virtually invisible, credited with just a single tackle.
“It’s Week 7, there’s no need to panic about sacks,” Wilkerson said this week. “Last I heard about this league, it’s about winning and winning games. That’s what we’re trying to do here.”
The Jets have surpassed the preseason basement-level expectations so far, producing more wins (three) than most experts predicted they would accumulate all season. The defensive line, however, has no sacks and has fallen well short of expectations. The unit was supposed to be the team’s strength, and Wilkerson and Williams, who combined for 11.5 sacks a year ago, have been the main culprits. It’s no wonder the Jets are second-to-last in the league with just seven sacks and 27th in rushing defense, allowing 138.8 yards per game.
“It’s football,” Bowles said. “You can ask anybody in the league: Everybody is battling something. Some can play with [injuries], some can’t. If you can play, there’s no excuses. If you can’t, you get an excuse.”
That raised the natural question: Can Wilkerson play effectively with the injuries he’s dealing with now? His on-field results suggest a specific answer.