The fact that the Jets can’t invade the end zone in the preseason pales in comparison to an injury that could make it harder to invade end zones in the regular season.
Gone for the year is tight end Josh Baker, who appeared in 11 games last season. According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Baker emerged from a collision between his knee and Panthers defensive back Josh Norman’s helmet with a torn ACL, at a minimum.
Offensive coordinator Tony Sparano likes to use multiple tight ends, so the Jets will definitely need to replacement him quickly.
Tight end Dustin Keller also exited Sunday night’s game with a hamstring injury.
Though it won’t heal Baker’s injury, the hit should have drawn a flag. He was in the defenseless posture at the time, which prohibits not only all hits to the defenseless players helmet and neck but all hits to any area of the defenseless player’s body with the helmet. In this case, Norman put a helmet right into Baker’s knee.
The Jets currently have four other tight ends on the roster, other than Baker and Keller. If those guys can’t step up, someone else will need to step in.