Leggett eager to erase lost season
Jets tight end Jordan Leggett spent his rookie season watching instead of playing, thanks to a right knee injury that cost him the season.
He hurt the knee in a preseason game, made the injury worse as he tried to return and ended up having surgery in November. This spring, he’s been back on the field and says he is “between 90 and 100 percent.”
Leggett, a fifth-round pick in 2017, is trying to make up for lost time.
“It kind of sucked,” Leggett said of last year. “My rookie year, I want to come into the NFL and I want to play, but it didn’t happen like that last year. Hopefully, now I’m good to go. I feel great. I get a chance at it this year.”
Leggett is part of a wideopen competition. The Jets’ top tight end from last year was Austin SeferianJenkins. He signed with the Jaguars in free agency. That left a tight-end room with Leggett, Eric Tomlinson, Neal Sterling, Clive Walford and Bucky Hodges. The Jets added Chris Herndon in the draft.
The Jets did not go out and sign any big-name tight end who would automatically be the starter. Instead, theyy felt good enough about the players on the roster to let them fight it out this summer..
“I felt like they had to have confidence in the tight-end room in the guys that were still in there after Austin left,” Leggett said. “There’s a starting job out there so we’re all out there fighting for it and working hard every day.”
The former Clemson star is now shaking off the rust after missing a whole season.
“I feel good,” he said. “I feel like I haven’t played football in over a year, so it feels good to be back out there, getting back in with the offense, running routes, doing everything a tight end needs to do. It’s a lot of fun.”
Leggett talked about dominating before his injury last season. His goals have not changed because of his missed time.
“I just kind of put them on hold just for last year,” Leggett said. “I kind of had to play a different role, not being on the field, just helping guys in any way possible. I still have goals. Whenever I do happen to get on the field, I’m out there to play ball and try to reach these goals that I’m going for.”
Leggett would not reveal the exact nature of his knee injury, but did say he did not have any torn ligaments. During OTA practices, he sat out one period each day to rest the knee. He expects to be a full participant in next week’s minicamp.
“He is running around and he is practicing,” coach Todd Bowles said. “I am glad he is healhealthy. The test wwill come in padspads. In shorts and T-T-shirts, I think everyone can catch balls.”