Jenkins hopes to return to field for Jets' minicamp in June

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Kris Jenkins was in the weight room the other day, doing his thing and rehabbing his left knee when the dreaded old- man syndrome engulfed his massive frame.

"I just had to stop a second," the nose tackle said Thursday, "take a step back and I said, 'Dang, I'm old.' One of the guys - I forgot who said it - they were like, 'You just figured that out?' Which just confirms that, dang, I'm old."

"I can't do it like a young buck anymore."

That's part of the reason why Jenkins is so eager to get back on the field for the first time since tearing his left ACL against the Bills last Oct. 18.

Jenkins revealed for the first time Thursday that he's targeting next month's mandatory minicamp (June 14-16), which gives him about a month to convince the Jets' staff to take off the training wheels and give him some much-needed reps.

"I want to be able to participate in this minicamp," Jenkins said, and later added: "I'm not a treasure. I'm a D-lineman. I've got work to do. I've still got to work. I'm a grunt man. I've got to do it the grunt way."

But for now, the 10-year veteran will focus on taking the pounds off - the grunt way. He's in the midst of coach Rex Ryan's weight-loss challenge, a contest between Ryan, tackle Damien Woody and himself in which the winner will be determined by who loses the most pounds between now and July 30.

Jenkins' weight has ballooned to 390 and he wants to drop at least 30 pounds (he'd prefer 45) by the start of training camp. He's already given up beer and food loaded with carbohydrates, and his goal is to take off 15 pounds by minicamp.

But he's ready to get at it and doesn't want to be sidelined come August, either.

"I have to do some work in training camp," Jenkins said. "I don't have the luxury of being able to sit back and just be a veteran. Right now, coming off the injury and things like that, I have to get my knee to the point where it is game-ready. And 90 percent of that, honestly, is getting to the point where I trust it because that's the hardest thing that you go through when you go through a surgery."

If anyone can appreciate Jenkins' quest to participate in minicamp despite his continuing rehab, it's Mark Sanchez. The second-year quarterback also has high hopes of participating in minicamp, though it's likely going to hinge on just how comfortable the training staff is with his knee strength.

"Just to get back in there, one, for our own sanity because we've been out for so long and it feels weird when we see the team out there," Sanchez told Newsday. "Naturally, we want to be a part of it and mix it up. And I'm one of the leaders on the offense and he's one of the leaders on defense. It's natural for us to want to do that.

"But we just need to be smart about it and we'll push as hard as we can."