What has been a worse than expected start to the season for the New York Jets may have gotten worse on Tuesday.
An announcement from the team’s official X account revealed that linebackers Quincy Williams and Marcelino McCray-Ball were being placed on injured reserve. Williams and McCray-Ball won’t be eligible to return to game action until Week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals at the earliest.
Williams left Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to a suffer injury suffered in the first half. McCray-Ball is dealing with a hamstring injury that he was able to fight through during Sunday’s game. It is unclear as to how much time each of the Jets linebackers are expected to be sidelined, but we know it’ll be at least four games.
McCray-Ball is second on the team with 17 tackles and tied for the team lead with one forced fumble. Williams is fourth in tackles (15), second in sacks (1 1/2), third in tackles for loss (three) and second in passes defended (two). Williams has consistently been a star in the middle of New York’s defense while McCray-Ball was coming on strong in his second professional season.
The injuries to two starting linebackers will now force quite a bit of experience on the field for the Jets. According to the team depth chart, the starting outside linebackers in Week 4 will be Kiko Mauigoa and Mark Robinson. Mauigoa is a rookie, and Robinson has just 48 tackles despite playing 41 games and being in his fourth season in the NFL.
New York will need to find a way to stay competitive on defense despite missing two of its top players and tacklers. If not, there will be no need to rush back Williams and McCray-Ball from their injuries just to join a team that has no chance of competing this season.
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