Jets pass rusher Carl Lawson's season-ending injury a reminder of football's fragility
New York Jets defensive end Carl Lawson looks on at the Green and White practice on Aug. 7, 2021. Credit: Corey Sipkin
It is the one inescapable reality of a sport that tests the outer limits of speed, strength and sheer physical ruthlessness. Injuries.
Pro football has captured the imagination of this country like no other sport, in part because it takes every fiber of a player’s being to excel. But with that warrior’s mentality comes the inherent risk that can end a season – and sometimes a career – in an instant.
Carl Lawson and the Jets discovered that irreducible truth on Thursday.
Lawson was having by every measure an outstanding training camp in his first year with the Jets, a pass rusher who was the star of nearly every practice and whose relentlessness was obvious from the very start. His coaches lauded him at every turn. So did his teammates, including left tackle Mekhi Becton, who had been beaten regularly by Lawson’s pass rush skill and swagger.
Becton has credited Lawson with making him a better offensive lineman, simply by the challenges posed by the 26-year-old edge rusher. Becton realized as much just minutes into the Jets’ preseason matchup against the Giants last Saturday night at MetLife Stadium.
"After the first drive, I went up to [Lawson] and said, ‘I appreciate you, bro. You made me a whole lot better,‘" Becton recalled of his conversation. "We all felt that difference of our D-line and going against another D-line."
On Thursday, Lawson was felled in an instant in a joint practice with the Packers. He suffered an Achilles injury that will end his season before it even started. As Lawson lay on the ground and was surrounded by the team’s medical staff, an eerie silence fell over the field.
Football players know. They know when a teammate is seriously injured, and they look on quietly, knowing that they, too, might be next.
In this case, it was Lawson, who was taken for an MRI to more accurately diagnose his condition. The Jets announced the season-ending Achilles injury late Thursday afternoon.
It is a devastating blow for Robert Saleh’s defense, a system in which Lawson could have been the centerpiece. Saleh’s "all gas, no brake" mantra is evidenced no better than his attacking defense, where the linemen push upfield to get to the quarterback with breathtaking swiftness. Lawson flashed some of the most explosive pass rush ability during his time with the Bengals, and even if he wasn’t a household name, Saleh knew that he could be a star in his 4-3 scheme.
But that day will have to wait until next year.
"We’re praying for him," Jets receiver Corey Davis told reporters after practice at Ray Nitschke Field.
There’s no telling whether the fact that the Jets’ decision to hold joint practices Wednesday and Thursday in advance of Saturday’s preseason game in Green Bay may have contributed to Lawson’s situation. But these sessions are most likely here to stay for the majority of NFL teams, who are making use of the joint workouts as a way to further evaluate their teams in the absence of a fourth preseason game. The Giants, in fact, have joint practices this week in Cleveland and next week in New England.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers held his fire about joint practices during his news conference Wednesday. Two years ago, he ripped the idea when the Packers hosted the Texans.
"I’m glad it’s over so we can get on to the rest of training camp," he said then. "I wouldn’t mind if they didn’t do it for another 14 years."
Rodgers said Wednesday there were some benefits to hosting another team, especially because the close relationship of head coaches Matt LaFleur and Saleh meant they could tailor drills in a way to benefit both teams. But on a day the Jets saw Lawson, Denzel Mims, Sheldon Rankins and safety Zane Lewis suffer injuries, perhaps Saleh will rethink the idea moving forward.
The more pressing matter for Saleh, though, is how to make up for Lawson’s absence. It’s no small task. The Jets have waited for an edge rusher of Lawson’s stature for years – decades, actually – and they finally had a player they thought was the answer after a long and frustrating drought.
Unfortunately for the Jets, the wait continues.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
