While the rest of the NFL is gearing up for preseason workouts and practices, the Jets are already taking hits to their roster. On Tuesday, the team placed receiver Quincy Enunwa on the physically unable to perform list, meaning he’ll miss the 2020 season.
Enunwa played a single game in 2019. In the season opener, he suffered a significant neck injury for the second time in his career. The 27-year-old’s career in the NFL is now in jeopardy.
Enunwa previously missed the entire 2017 season due to a neck injury. A productive 2018 season landed the receiver a four-year, $33 million contract extension, but he’s played in only a single game since then.
Due to salary cap ramifications, the Jets will continue to carry Enunwa on the payroll. The receiver is due $6 million and $4.1 million in guaranteed money in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
After being drafted in the sixth round in 2014, Enunwa earned his way onto the Jets roster and eventually broke into the starting lineup. In 2018, Enunwa caught 38 passes for 449 yards and a TD in 11 games.
In his career, Enunwa has 119 catches for 1,617 yards and five touchdowns.
Alongside Enunwa, Josh Bellamy will also miss the 2020 season after being placed on the season-ending PUP list. Bellamy continues to deal with a shoulder injury that limited him to seven games last season.
Despite being listed as a receiver, Bellamy’s contributions have mainly been on special teams. Bellamy is due to make $2.25 million in 2020.
Jets Set to Add Gore to Fill Out Backfield
Amid the loss of a pair of receivers, the Jets offense is moving forward by adding veteran running back Frank Gore. He’ll join a backfield led by Le’ Veon Bell, who endured a disappointing 2019 campaign.
According to Gore’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, the running back’s deal with New York is for one year. The 37-year-old is the third-leading rusher in NFL history, trailing only Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith.
The addition is Gore is part of head coach Adam Gase’s plans to “lessen the load” on Bell, who had 311 touches last season (eighth in the NFL). On 245 rushing attempts, Bell managed just 789 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 3.2 yards per carry.
Last year with the Bills, Gore averaged 3.6 yards per carry while racking up 599 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
No matter his workload out of the backfield, Gore’s presence figures to have a positive impact on the Jets offense as a whole, which aims to make positive strides with a young quarterback in Sam Darnold.
In 2019, Darnold threw for 3,024 yards with 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 62% of his passes in 13 games.
Can Jets Earn a Playoff Berth?
Despite a lack of enthusiasm around the Jets last season, the team finished 7-9 on the back of six wins out of their last eight games. Can they improve enough to earn a playoff berth in 2020?
According to oddsmakers, that outcome isn’t likely.
Although they’ll no longer have to deal with Tom Brady twice a year, the Jets’ win total is set at 6.5 wins. And if you’d like to wager on where the Jets will finish within the AFC East, odds favor third place (+125) and fourth place (+190) over either second (+360) or first (+750).
A bet on the Jets to make the playoffs comes with odds of +340, while a bet against the Jets earning a postseason spot holds odds of -460.
With odds of +3700 to win the AFC, New York is ahead of only Miami (+4000), Cincinnati (+7000), and Jacksonville (+7000).
