Jets' Jaiquawn Jarrett sorry about injuries to receiver Devin Smith
The New York Jets' Devin Smith catches a pass during an organized team activity in Florham Park, N.J., Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Credit: AP / Seth Wenig
Jets safety Jaiquawn Jarrett felt remorse when he learned the extent of rookie wide receiver Devin Smith's injuries.
Smith, the Jets' second-round pick out of Ohio State, suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung after colliding with Jarrett following a spectacular catch Friday. Smith is expected to be out four to six weeks.
"I'm sorry to hear about it," Jarrett said. "But it wasn't like I was intending to hit Devin, you know? It was a play [in which] he was going up and the ball bobbled in the air and he happened to come down. And I was pursuing to him and I started to slow up, and the way he was falling, with his back and my knee -- I guess his back just hit my knee. So it was something that couldn't be avoided. But I'm sorry that that happened to him."
Smith, who spent Friday and Saturday nights in the hospital, was at camp Sunday, observing the action in street clothes. He wasn't made available to the general media but did speak to NFL Network and said he has three broken ribs.
Jarrett, meanwhile, is plugging along every day at camp, doing whatever is asked of him. On Saturday, the fourth-year safety out of Temple made one of the day's bigger plays when he forced a fumble by receiver Walter Powell inside the 5-yard line and then recovered the ball. Later in the day, Jarrett broke up a pass over the middle from Ryan Fitzpatrick to tight end Kellen Davis.
"Coach Kacy is preaching daily: turnovers, turnovers," Jarrett said, referring to defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers. "You catch an interception . . . a PBU [pass broken up] might lead to someone picking it off. And attacking the ball. Be violent, attacking the ball. If one of us [has] the ball-carrier, you know the pursuit is coming. Be violent on the strip attempt. Everyone try to get a strip attempt. You never know, the ball will pop out in the air and you'll get it. That's what we've been practicing -- getting the ball out, daily."
Through four days of camp and two days of hitting, the defense hasn't had any interceptions in 11-on-11 or 7-on-7 drills. Last season, the Jets had only six interceptions, tied for last in the league with Jacksonville and Kansas City.
Jarrett had two of those interceptions despite starting only two games. He's not expected to start this year, either. Most likely he'll play behind Calvin Pryor and newcomer Marcus Gilchrist. But Jarrett isn't worrying about the depth chart right now.
"Wherever you're at, you go out there and you execute," he said. "Things happen and you work to move up. You work to get better every day."
