The New York Jets placed Tyron Smith on injured reserve ahead of the Week 13 matchup versus the Seattle Seahawks.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini says this “likely” ends his 2024 season and said, “This could be the end of a great career.”
The Jets have six games remaining in their season. This IR move for Smith rules him out for the next four games at a minimum. At that point, the Jets could choose to bring him back for the final two games of the regular season.
However with the team currently sitting at 3-8 and their playoff chances at less than 1%, a Smith return appears incredibly unlikely.
Smith, 33, had been dealing with a serious neck issue since the Week 10 Arizona Cardinals game.
Another Hall of Famer Comes to the Jets to ‘Die’
The Jets have a long track record of acquiring proven NFL players at the ends of their careers for a cup of coffee.
That list includes Hall of Fame players like Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Jason Taylor, Ed Reed, Art Monk, and LaDainian Tomlinson, among others. Some had more success than others, but the majority of them failed.
Smith is another player you can add to that infamous list.
“The Jets gambled on Tyron Smith, hoping a maintenance program could get him through the season. It didn’t work out. They got 10 starts out of him. When he played, he wasn’t the Smith who made 8 Pro Bowls with the Cowboys. One of many moves that failed for the Jets,” according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
This past offseason the Jets signed him to a one-year deal with $6.5 million guaranteed but it held a maximum value of $20 million if Smith met a combination of individual and team-driven incentives.
Smith started 10 games for the Jets this season before injury issues forced him off of the field. He hasn’t completed a full season since 2015 which has fueled retirement rumors that he might want to hang them up because of persistent health problems.
That opens the door for Olu Fashanu, the No. 11 overall pick from April’s draft, to continue to be the left tackle of the present and the future.
While the Smith addition didn’t work out on the field for the Jets, it seems like the veteran tackle has had a huge impact on the development of Fashanu behind the scenes. That could prove invaluable as Fashanu comes into his own as an NFL pro.
Jets Execute a Flurry of Moves Ahead of Seahawks Game
With Smith going to IR, the Jets opened a spot on the 53-man roster. Gang Green utilized that by activating backup offensive lineman Xavier Newman to the roster.
In a temporary move for the Seahawks game, the Jets have elevated running back and return specialist Kene Nwangwu from the practice squad to the roster.
That’ll provide some depth at running back but more importantly, will add another option in the return game. Nwangwu joined the Jets back in September on the practice squad and he has bided his time there over the last couple of months.
As a rookie back in 2021, Nwangwu led the NFL with two return scores, per the Jets’ official press release.
