Raiders’ Crosby another test for Gang’s ailing OL
The Jets’ injury-riddled offensive line got demolished last week for eight sacks by Joey Bosa and the Chargers, and that makeshift unit will face another stern test Sunday night against Maxx Crosby and the Raiders.
Crosby is tied with T.J. Watt of the Steelers and Myles Garrett of the Browns for the AFC lead with 9.5 sacks, just a smidge behind NFL leader Danielle Hunter of the Vikings (10).
“He’s like the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps on going and going and going. Old school commercial for you young bucks,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said Friday. “He is a freak in that regard. He does not stop and I think that’s why he’s so special. He gets a lot of reps at a very high level. He’s got tremendous instinct and feel and plays with violence. He is absolutely relentless.
“You can tell he absolutely loves the game of football, loves his teammates and he lays it all on the field every single time, every chance he gets.”
Saleh officially ruled out fill-in tackle Billy Turner for Sunday’s game following surgery to repair a broken finger he suffered against the Chargers. And veteran tackle Duane Brown (shoulder/hip) still won’t be ready to return for at least “another week,” Saleh said, meaning the Jets could go with Mekhi Becton, Laken Tomlinson, Joe Tippmann, Xavier Newman and Max Mitchell from left-to-right on the offensive line.
It would be their fifth starting configuration in five games and the sixth this season.
“We’ve got a good plan,” Saleh added. “Like I said, the individual pieces on our offensive line, I love all of them. You just wish you would get some continuity, so they can play together and learn how to play off one another. So, we love the five that are lining up, we just need time for them to get that continuity.”
➤ Saleh on veteran receiver Randall Cobb being a healthy scratch last week: “Especially with how hard he works and the type of leadership he provides in the locker room, I love Cobby, love everything about him. You can see why he’s had so much success in his career and it’s never easy, but his story definitely is not over here with this team.”
➤ Rookie defensive lineman Will McDonald did not practice because of an ankle injury and is questionable for Sunday.
“We’ll see how it goes. He’s dealing with an ankle,” Saleh said. “He finished practice [Thursday], but it popped up this morning.”