The Jets aren’t going to cut cornerback Dee Milliner, but they aren’t sure whether they’ll have him in the lineup for the regular season opener either.
Coach Rex Ryan said Friday, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, that “it’s still too early to tell” if Milliner will be recovered enough from his high ankle sprain to take the field with his teammates against the Raiders next Sunday. Milliner was injured on August 10, which means he’ll have a little less than a month to recover before the regular season kicks off.
Milliner’s injury is just one of the problems the Jets are dealing with at cornerback right now. There’s also the matter of Dimitri Patterson’s suspension for failing to show up for the team’s preseason game against the Giants. In a statement given to Josina Anderson of ESPN, Patterson said the Jets were being dishonest about saying they didn’t know where he was when he was absent and Ryan said Friday that he has not spoken to Patterson since his comments on Thursday.
Should they decide to part ways with Patterson and not have Milliner in the lineup, the Jets could be starting Darrin Walls and converted safety Antonio Allen, who is recovering from a concussion, at cornerback in Week One.