New York Jets’ injuries piling up; Vyncint Smith to miss 5-8 weeks

New York Jets player injuries are starting to pile up with wide receiver Vyncint Smith to miss significant time due to surgery.

The Chris Hogan signing suddenly makes a little more sense. (Not that it wouldn’t make sense prior to Monday’s breaking news, but now, it becomes crystal clear.)

Vyncint Smith is set to miss the next 5-8 weeks due to a core muscle injury. He’ll undergo surgery, per his agent, Adam Seifer, who told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero Monday afternoon.

Smith's agent, @NFLAgentAdam, tells me Smith is expected to miss 5 to 8 weeks. As reported yesterday, the #Jets are signing veteran WR Chris Hogan. https://t.co/1y2hTbSqjJ

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 17, 2020

Smith, 24, looked to have a golden opportunity at New York Jets camp this year for several reasons. Firstly, he was entering his second season with Gotham Green as a Joe Douglas acquisition. The former Houston Texans wideout brings the right prototype to the field to man down an outside weaponry spot.

Secondly (and more importantly), young Denzel Mims has yet to officially practice at camp. He tweaked his hamstring late last week and missed practice on Friday, Sunday and Monday. Veteran Jeff Smith has been running with the ones (opposite Breshad Perriman with Jamison Crowder in the slot).

Douglas and the Jets signed Hogan on Sunday.

Smith finished with 225 yards on 17 grabs to go along with 52 yards and a touchdown on three carries a year ago. His top season highlight came early in the season in Philadelphia when he broke the goal line on a well-designed reverse.

Following Monday’s practice, head coach Adam Gase simply labeled Smith’s injury as a “core.”

Other injuries

The depressing cold sweat Jets fans are waking up to over the last two or three nights are suddenly becoming more consistent. Like last season, bumps and bruises are starting to pile up in Florham Park, NJ.

• Denzel Mims, hamstring
• Brian Poole, dehydration
• Cameron Clark, shoulder
• Vyncint Smith, core
• Travis Ross, groin
• Pierre Desir, hamstring
• Jabari Zuniga, quad
• James Burgess, lower back

Blake Cashman was seen running with Neville Hewitt and the ones frequently Monday after Burgess went down early in practice. Gase simply labeled Smith as a “core” due to the idea they probably did not yet know the official severity of the injury until some point Monday.

For a kid with a golden opportunity suddenly laid at his feet, this is certainly a tough break.