New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker out with shoulder injury

New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker has been bothered by a shoulder issue for a couple weeks, but now his status going forward is in serious doubt.

Coming off a six-catch, 126-yard effort against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker was reported to be dealing with a right shoulder injury. The results in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs were not good, with one catch for 31 yards (on six targets), and Jets’ head coach Todd Bowles acknowledging that Decker aggravated his shoulder issue.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini passed along concern from within the Jets about Decker’s shoulder, and he missed practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News has reported what exactly Decker is dealing with.

SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano further reported it’s unclear if Decker will need surgery, with the possibility of his season being over not being firmly committed to by Bowles. There seems to be some hope Decker won’t miss more than a week, but the building bad news of this week makes that seem unlikely.

Brandon Marshall has been battling a knee issue since being tackled awkwardly against the Bills, so both of the Jets’ top wide receivers are banged up. Marshall did practice fully on Wednesday this week though, and Bowles’ comments on Thursday about getting him the ball more will have to come to fruition with Decker sidelined.

Quincy Enunwa has had a productive start to the season as the Jets’ No. 3 wide receiver, with 17 receptions (on 25 targets) for 183 yards with a touchdown. He had a team-high 11 targets in last week’s ugly loss to Kansas City, so a step up to No. 2 in the wide receiver pecking order should not be too much for Enunwa to handle. But a look at the depth behind Enunwa is a different matter, with rookie Jalin Marshall (shoulder) out and undrafted rookie Robby Anderson in line for a bigger role.

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The Jets’ offense was already going to have its hands full against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Without Decker the challenge will be greater, but the relative unknown of Enunwa could give the Jets a minor advantage they will need.