Injuries piling up for Gang Green
The Jets were missing nine players, including seven starters, for practice on Wednesday as the wear and tear of the season has begun to take its toll.
There were 18 total players on the injury report, including rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, who has an elbow injury that is not serious.
“It’s pretty lengthy,” coach Todd Bowles said of the injury list. “We’ll see how they come back this week and get treatment. We’ve got guys that we’re working in just in case and we’ll be ready to go with those guys.”
Bowles r ul ed out sa fety Marcus Maye (thumb) and wide receiver Quincy Enunwa (ankle), who are both expected to miss several weeks. The oth- er starters who did not practice were: CB Buster Skrine (concussion), RB Isaiah Crowell (foot), WR Robby Anderson (hamstring), DL Leonard Williams (back) and CB Trumaine Johnson (quad).
The Jets look particularly thin at wide receiver with Enunwa out and Anderson and Terrelle Pryor (groin) not practicing. They have three healthy wide receivers: Jermaine Kearse, Andre Roberts and Charone Peake.
Darnold’s appearance on the injury report raised eyebrows, but he practiced fully and said he was f ine. He injured the elbow making the tackle after he threw an interception to Malik Hooker against the Colts.
“Hopefully try to not throw as many interceptions so I can stay away from making tackles,” Darnold, a former high school linebacker, said. “Obviously, when you give the ball to the other team, you’ve got to get them down, so I did that, but at the same time I should probably tackle him without using my right arm as much.”
The Jets will see former teammate Sheldon Richardson on Sunday. The defensive lineman is in his first season with the Vikings after signing as a free agent. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Jets before they traded him in September 2017.
“He’s played very well,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “We’ve really been working with him on a lot of techniques that we’re trying to refine him with. He’s been a model person, model citizen, true professional with everything that he’s done. We’re excited to have him and glad that we got him.”
RB Elijah McGuire returned to practice Wednesday. He has been on injured reserve all season after suffering a foot injury on the first day of training camp. He is eligible to return for the Week 9 game against the Dolphins. … Kicker Jason Myers was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after kicking seven field goals against the Colts.