Jenkins tears ACL again, may consider retirement

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Kris Jenkins had been nearly bouncing off the walls, essentially pogo-sticking his way around the last few months given how happy he was to be all the way back from a torn ACL.

The big fella probably isn't in much of a jovial mood today.

For the second time in 11 months, Jenkins was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee yesterday, a season-ending injury and a significant blow to the Jets' interior defense. The nose tackle tore the same ACL on Oct. 18 against the Bills, but had made it all the way back and was looking good before the freak accident.

It's his third ACL tear in his career and there's a possibility the 32-year-old may call it quits. Jenkins' injury could also open the door for the Jets to sign Adalius Thomas, who visited the Jets' facility here yesterday, according to a league source.

"Obviously, this is going to be a huge blow for us," coach Rex Ryan said. "We're about team, but I just feel really bad for Kris, a guy that rehabbed that injury and every day he worked at it. That's part of this business. It's a 100 percent injury rate in this league and that's one of the unfortunate things in this business.

"I think he'll come through this. But it's a big loss.''

Jenkins was hurt during the Ravens' second possession - their sixth offensive play overall - of the Jets' 10-9 loss at the New Meadowlands Stadium Monday night. He was engaged with Baltimore left guard Ben Grubbs and trying to shed the block when teammate Bart Scott was pushed back into him by left tackle Michael Oher.

Jenkins' left leg got caught underneath him, twisting awkwardly. He immediately clutched his left knee while some of his teammates hovered over him. The four-time Pro Bowler slowly limped off the field under his own power. But the damage had been done.

Now, someone has to step into his very big shoes.

"He's got a physical mismatch against anybody he plays against," Ryan said. "There are not too many people walking the face of the Earth that are like that - just a big, powerful man that's athletic and is hard to block one-on-one.''

Surgery hasn't been scheduled yet for Jenkins and it's unclear if he'll be able to undergo a similar procedure that helped repair his torn ACL a season ago. Because he wanted no part of using an ACL from a cadaver, doctors grafted part of his hamstring tendon from his right leg and used that to help serve as his new left ACL.

Jenkins, who's entertained retirement talk before, may hang up his cleats for good because he may not want to go through another grueling sixth-plus month rehab. He speaks openly about his family all the time and how they are his No. 1 priority.

Ryan, though, said there was no mention of retirement when the two spoke.

"I think he's going to get away from it a little bit," Ryan said, "and then he'll make a decision."

Jenkins' loss is another blow to a defensive line that's already thin after Ropati Pitoitua went down in the second preseason game with a torn Achilles. Sione Pouha will take on more of a role just as he did last season after Jenkins went down, starting the final 10 games and helping solidify the Jets' run defense. He is eager to prove that again.

"And then some, and then some," Pouha said. "Just keep up building on some of the things I've established, getting better.''