There was a moment last week when it felt like the New York Jets’ season might be over before it ever started. Justin Fields got carted off the field in what looked like a worst-case, non-contact injury. Cue the ghost of 2023, and every Jets fan immediately blacking out from emotional trauma.
Turns out, it was just a dislocated toe. Not even the big one. Fields was back on the... field in full less than five days later, practicing like nothing happened. Total bullet dodged. Crisis averted. But apparently not everyone took the hint.
Because in the literal aftermath of their first padded practice, head coach Aaron Glenn decided it was the perfect time to wax poetic about how physical his camp is and why it’s worth it.
Jets HC Aaron Glenn, confirmed not a reader of rooms
When asked why he’s pushing for such an unusually physical training camp, Glenn dropped this gem:
“They understand I’m trying to do everything I can to help them win.”
Which... yeah, that’s the job. But the whole point is to help them win while still being healthy enough to actually do said winning. That quote would’ve already felt oddly self-congratulatory, but dropping it four days after Fields was carted out of camp is objectively brutal timing.
Glenn's a defensive guy at heart. Heck, the man is coming from the Detroit Lions, where they wanted to bite kneecaps, so excuse him if he's a bit overzealous with the physicality. He does indeed know what he's doing and how to balance the scales of camp's temperament:
“Well, the physical part of it is one. I mean, that is just part of football," Glenn told reporters. "Then also you have to be smart because it’s one thing of just being physical, it’s another thing being physical and also being smart. So those are the things we’re looking for."
That sounds like someone who understands what the balance should look like. But it doesn’t quite square with the open-field tackling drills they’ve already started, you know, the ones they’re doing before full pads even go on.
No one’s asking for a pillow fight, but maybe ease into it a bit when your starting quarterback just got stepped on and carted off the field in your first week.
The Jets have been wrecked by early-season injuries before. Glenn doesn’t need to be reminded of that. And he doesn’t need to prove how tough he is to a locker room that already looks bought in. Just coach smart football. Because nothing screams “welcome to New York” quite like being tone-deaf about injuries while your QB is hoping his toe doesn't fall off.