This offseason, most of the discussion about the New York Jets has revolved around their pursuit of Aaron Rodgers. It makes sense, given that he plays the league's most important position, is an obvious future Hall of Famer, and has been extraordinarily transparent about his desire to play for New York. But he's not the only player the Jets are counting on who can't yet be a full participant in the team's offseason program.
Running back Breece Hall's situation is quite a bit different, considering he is actually on the Jets' roster, but he's still working his way back from an ACL tear suffered during last season's Week 7 victory over the Denver Broncos. Lucky for New York, Jets coach Robert Saleh seems incredibly encouraged by Hall's rehab progress.
"Breece looks fantastic," Saleh said this week, per ESPN.com.
As a rookie, Hall rushed 80 times for 463 yards and four touchdowns while adding 19 receptions for 218 yards and an additional score. He seemed to be in the midst of breaking out and taking over the Jets' backfield when he went down, having played at least two-thirds of the team's offensive snaps in three consecutive games before getting injured early in Week 7.
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The Jets traded for former Jaguars running back James Robinson in the wake of Hall's injury, but it was second-year back Michael Carter and rookie Zonovan (Bam) Knight who ended up playing the significant majority of the backfield snaps in Hall's absence down the stretch of the season. According to Saleh, the Jets believe that duo can carry the load if Hall is not 100% ready by opening day.
"[We] expect big things from Michael Carter," Saleh said. "I know he had a down year a year ago, but I think he's got a chance to come back strong. It usually happens where Year 3 is the trigger for those young guys. Obviously, Bam finished strong and we get Ty Johnson back."
New York already has a strong wide receiver corps in place with Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman supplementing the returning Garrett Wilson, and it has a trio of backs capable of contributing in different ways. The next step is to finalize the trade for the quarterback and figure out how to make everything fit together far better than it has with Zach Wilson under center.
