The New York Jets will be without defensive end Jermaine Johnson in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Johnson will be sidelined by an ankle injury that leaves an already thin edge rotation even more vulnerable.

While Micheal Clemons is expected to step in as the starter, the Jets may look to an under-the-radar solution to distribute Johnson’s vacated snaps: rotating their interior defensive linemen to the edge.

Why it could be a potential solution

In Week 1, Johnson played a significant number of snaps in his first game back from a torn Achilles injury suffered last season, playing over 89% of the team’s defensive snaps. He was hindered last week due to the ankle injury, playing only 42.7% of the snaps.

The Jets clearly cannot rely on Clemons to fill the entirety of Johnson’s workload, as Clemons has been nothing short of a liability for New York this season.

Pro Football Focus has Clemons ranked as the second-worst edge rusher in the NFL (min. 70 snaps) with a 45.4 overall grade. He has yet to record a pressure, run stop, or solo tackle, and his only notable mark on the stat sheet is a personal foul penalty.

Behind Clemons, the Jets’ depth at defensive end is laughable.

Rookie Braiden McGregor, inactive in Week 1, played 37 snaps against the Bills last week while earning a poor 46.1 grade from PFF. On the other hand, fifth-round rookie Tyler Baron saw just seven snaps in the opener before being a healthy scratch in Week 2.

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That leaves New York with only one other option: the defensive tackles. Luckily for the Jets, their interior defensive linemen are capable of playing outside in a pinch.

Quinnen Williams, Jowon Briggs, and Leonard Taylor III all bring experience working on the edge. Williams has taken 228 career snaps at defensive end, while Taylor lined up outside 51 times as a rookie last season. Briggs also saw 28 snaps at the position across six games during his rookie year.

While Clemons is expected to handle a large share of Jermaine Johnson’s snaps against Tampa Bay on Sunday, the Jets’ ability to go bigger on the edge could help them manage the rotation with depth concerns at the position.