FLORHAM PARK, NJ - MAY 10: General view during New York Jets Rookie Minicamp on May 10, 2013 at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey.
(Photo by Al Pereira/New York Jets/Getty Images)

After multiple injury-riddled seasons, the New York Jets have created the Athletic Care and Performance Department.

The New York Jets have been riddled with injuries throughout the past couple of years. In fact, since 2019, the team has placed a total of 64 players on injured reserve—good for third in the entire NFL. (Finishing first is Robert Saleh’s former team, the San Francisco 49ers.)

The Jets intend on doing something to change those numbers. On Thursday they announced the creation of the Athletic Care and Performance Department, headed by Dr. Brad DeWeese.

DeWeese has helped Olympic champions and athletes throughout numerous sports achieve championships. Prior to his hire with the Jets, DeWeese was the assistant athletic director for sports performance at East Tennessee State.

“After a thorough review of our sports performance areas, it became clear that in order to maximize our player’s health, safety and effectiveness on the field, we needed to establish a centralized group that would better position our team for success,” said Joe Douglas per a team press release. “During our search for the right person to lead this group Dr. Brad DeWeese impressed us, not only with his proven track record but also with his vision, insight and strategic approach to maximize athletic care and performance.”

The department has already made five hires in addition to Dr. DeWeese. The head strength and conditioning coach is Mike Nicolini, who was the former strength and conditioning coach with the 49ers.

Working under Nicolini will be Dr. Omar Ahmad, who will serve as the assistant strength and conditioning coach. Ahmad was previously the assistant director of athletics and sports performance at Richard Bland College.

Dr. Matt Sams is now the director of sports science within the department. Sams was previously an analyst in the MLB for the Kansas City Royals.

Dr. Robert Sausaman will be holding the position of assistant director of high performance. Sausaman has a connection with DeWeese working at East Tennessee State with the women’s soccer team as the director of sports science/performance from 2016-2019. Most recently, he was the director of applied science at Missouri.

Jet X Offseason Tool 2023 4

The department will be responsible for rehab, strength and conditioning, a nutrition staff, and the team’s athletic trainers going forward.

This is an excellent move by the New York Jets, acknowledging that the organization can always get better and expand; creating better opportunities for the players and staff.

Audio Version available to members only: Learn more here

Download Jet X Mobile on the App Store and Google Play.

Want More NY Jets News & Jets X-Factor Content?

Download the free Jet X Mobile App to get customizable notifications directly to your iOS (App Store) or Google/Android (Google Play) device.

Add Jets X-Factor to your Google News feed to stay up to date with the New York Jets.

Follow us on Twitter @jetsxfactor for all the latest New York Jets news, Facebook for even more, Instagram for some of the top NY Jets images, and YouTube for original Jets X-Factor videos.

Join the official Jets Discord community to connect with likeminded fans.

Thomas Christopher has been covering the Jets since 2018. He is an avid sports fan, mixed martial artist, fantasy football player and Rex Ryan stan. He's also one of Jets X-Factor's breaking news writers. Email: tpascar[at]yahoo.com
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
JetOrange
JetOrange
2 years ago

Consider this move as making the Jets a more attractive option for players in Free Agency. Consider, maximizing the players performance. Injury Prevention, and the best ReHab on the planet. Prepare the player, and his body , for post career.