Jets place LG Alex Lewis on non-football injury list

RAIDERS at JETS Sunday, 1 p.m. (CBS)

NEW YORK — The New York Jets placed left guard Alex Lewis on the nonfootball injury list Friday.

Lewis had already been ruled out for the team’s game Sunday against Las Vegas for what coach Adam Gase called “an organizational decision.”

Lewis is dealing with some off-field issues, two people told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team has not publicly discussed details of the situation due to privacy issues.

ESPN.com first reported the team’s decision to place Lewis on the NFI list.

Lewis will have to sit out at least three weeks, but one of the people told the AP that the Jets will continue to pay the offensive lineman — something NFL teams aren’t obligated to do with players on the NFI list — while he is sidelined. There is hope Lewis could return to play before the end of the season.

Lewis was limited at practice last Friday for what the team said was not injury related. He didn’t play last Sunday against Miami, and Gase announced Friday that Lewis wouldn’t play against Las Vegas this Sunday after not practicing all week.

Neither Gase nor the winless team has explained the situation surrounding Lewis, who had started all but one game this season before last week.

Gase would not go into any details, other than to say that Lewis’ roster spot was not in jeopardy. He also said it was not correct to say Lewis’ benching is disciplinary, and the offensive lineman is not being fined by the team.

Lewis has been attending the team’s virtual meetings, but has not practiced.

“As soon we have a resolution to this, we can talk more about it,” Gase said.

On Monday, Gase was asked if he and Lewis had perhaps gotten into a “verbal altercation” at some point last week.

“We had a conversation,” Gase said Monday. “I wouldn’t call it, I don’t know if it’s really a ‘verbal altercation,’ but we had a conversation. Right now, we’re handling it internally.”

The 28-year-old Lewis was acquired from Baltimore in August 2019 for a 2020 seventh-round draft pick.