NY Jets TE Mason Taylor expected to miss time with thumb injury (Report)

Just two weeks into the 2026 regular season, the New York Jets have been hit with the injury bug.

After placing three players on injured reserve, including defensive tackle David Onyemata, tight end Mason Taylor is considered “week-to-week” after suffering a thumb injury in Sunday’s overtime loss, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

According to Rapoport, the 2025 second-round pick is expected to miss this week’s game against the Detroit Lions.

Entering the year, Taylor was commonly labeled a prime breakout candidate. It’s easy to see why, following an encouraging rookie season despite playing with three different quarterbacks. The most impressive takeaway from his rookie year was his prowess in contested situations. His 79% contested catch rate finished as the second-best clip among qualified tight ends, trailing only George Kittle.

Two weeks into the season, though, he has struggled to get involved as a pass catcher. During the Jets’ Week 1 opener, he caught two of his three targets for -2 yards. He had a six-yard reception, but a screen pass that went for a loss negated that.

Before leaving Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers, he wasn’t targeted. However, he has stood out as a run blocker. Among 27 qualified tight ends (minimum 35 run-blocking snaps), Taylor ranks fourth in Pro Football Focus‘ run-blocking grade this year (75.5). Week 1’s film backed up his strong run-blocking showing.

Overall, the Jets have struggled to get their tight ends involved in the receiving game as a whole, so there is certainly no reason to panic with Taylor. It’s not uncommon for second-year tight ends to take time to acclimate. Taylor is in an even more difficult situation than most, as Geno Smith is already the fourth quarterback he’s caught a pass from, and Frank Reich is his second offensive coordinator.

Now that he is expected to miss the Lions game, keep an eye out for first-round rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq. It was puzzling as to why he wasn’t involved more in Week 2, but without Taylor, he now has a prime opportunity to make a statement.