Jets running back Braelon Allen sidelined for eight to 12 weeks
Jets running back Braelon Allen walks off the field with team staff after suffering an unknown injury in the first half of an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: AP/Marta Lavandier
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — For a team that has lost its first four games of the season, the revelation that Braelon Allen is expected to miss the next eight to 12 weeks with a sprained MCL was not exactly the best possible outcome for the Jets.
Coach Aaron Glenn announced before practice Friday that Allen does not necessarily need surgery to repair the knee injury. Instead, the second-year running back could opt to rehab the injury and the timeframe to return to the Jets would be the same.
Allen suffered the injury in the Jets’ 27-21 loss to the Dolphins on Monday night.
“It could be eight to 12 weeks,” said Glenn, who stressed that the decision about surgery will be made by the second-year running back and his agent, Joe Panos. “It seems like that. We know it is a significant amount of time, but that’d be his decision on how he wants to go about that, and I know he’ll make the right decision for himself.”
Under the timeline Glenn outlined, Allen could return as soon as Nov. 30 against the Falcons or, on the far end, Dec. 28 against the Patriots.
Serving as the No. 2 running back behind Breece Hall, Allen had played reasonably well, having carried the ball 18 times for 76 yards (an average of 4.2 yards per rush) and scored a touchdown. Against the Dolphins, he rushed for 26 yards on four carries before being hurt returning a kickoff.
Without Allen for the foreseeable future, the Jets promoted Isaiah Davis to the second running back slot and signed Khalil Herbert on Thursday.
During his media availability Thursday, while lamenting the loss of Allen, offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand unequivocally stated his belief that Davis can begin to help fill the void left by the loss of the 21-year-old.
“You still have a deep roster, right?” Engstrand asked rhetorically. “Isaiah’s got to bump up. But losing a guy like Braelon, that’s tough because you can watch it and he was starting to — you feel like he’s hitting his stride. He’s making some good reads. He’s running hard. He’s running [physically]. And then he goes down.
“So that is a shot. That hurts a bit. But that’s why, again, why we’ve got a guy like Isaiah to bump up into the two and we’ll just go from there. Braelon will get back as soon as he can, but yeah, he’ll be missed.”
Although Glenn was circumspect when asked if the fifth-year running back could play Sunday against the Cowboys (1-2-1), he told the 27-year-old that he compared favorably to the Lions’ featured back, David Montgomery.
“I just told him this today that we thought he was just as good as David was,” said Glenn, who coached against the two backs when he served as the Lions’ defensive coordinator and Herbert and Montgomery played for the Bears. “I’m happy we got this player. He still has a lot of meat on the bone. With the injuries that we’ve had, to be able to get a player like this was critical for us.”
Notes & quotes: Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson (ankle) and running back/ kick returner Kene Nwangwu (hamstring) were listed as questionable on the injury report for Sunday’s game. Cornerback Michael Carter II is out with a concussion.
