Safety Ed Reed only joined the Jets on Thursday, but he won’t need an extended period to acquaint himself with the defensive playbook before taking the field with the team.
Reed has played for Jets coach Rex Ryan in the past and that probably helped make the decision an easy one for Ryan and company.
“For Ed, he’ll be ready to roll. Definitely going to play him,” Ryan said, via Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
Ryan said Thursday that Reed won’t be a starter and talked a lot about making teams think twice about throwing the ball deep, which suggests a passing down role for Reed with the Jets the rest of the way. Reed will be the only veteran making his Jets debut on Sunday, but a couple of other experienced players should return after long layoffs.
Tight end Kellen Winslow is back from his four-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy and wide receiver Santonio Holmes is probable to play after missing several weeks with a hamstring injury. Wide receiver Jeremy Kerley will miss the game after dislocating his elbow in Week Nine.