Jets panic and trade for Kalen Ballage, giving Dolphins draft pick

Kalen Ballage and his former head coach Adam Gase will be reunited once again with the New York Jets. 

Leave it to Adam Gase and the New York Jets to do a division rival a favor right before the 2020 season is about to kickoff.

Throughout the week, reports out of Miami had stated the Dolphins were getting ready to release third-year running back Kalen Ballage. Instead, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the New York Jets have come in from seemingly out of nowhere to trade for him. Yup, Ballage is headed north to be reunited with Gase.

New Jets running back Kalen Ballage suffered an Achilles injury last December and averaged less than two yards per carry in 2019

The Dolphins selected Ballage in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. As fans know, 2018 was Gase’s last campaign in Miami before he took over the reigns for the Jets last season.

This move doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for New York, especially considering the fact that they’ve given up a draft pick to acquire the 6-foot-2, 230-pound running back. Ballage hasn’t put up big numbers by any means in his first two seasons.

During his rookie campaign, he rushed for 191 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries. In 2019, Ballage carried the pigskin 74 times for 135 yards, averaging a lowly 1.8 yards per carry. Last December, he also suffered a torn Achilles tendon, ending his campaign prematurely.

Despite the low production and Ballage coming off a serious injury, the Jets decided he’d be a great addition to the running backs room, which of course is led by star speedster Le’Veon Bell. 

You can go ahead and add this to the long list of head-scratching moves we’ve seen the Jets pull off in recent years.