The New York Jets lose a major piece of their blocking unit, as the durable James Carpenter will miss the remainder of the season.
FLORHAM PARK, NEW JERSEY—Ending a five-game losing streak just became an even more gargantuan task for the New York Jets, who will be missing guard James Carpenter for the remainder of the season.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported it first.
Sources: #Jets are placing LG James Carpenter to season-ending IR with a shoulder injury
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) November 28, 2018
#Jets LG James Carpenter will need shoulder surgery, I'm told. https://t.co/4DyILUztsW
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) November 28, 2018
Thus ends the season for the durable Carpenter, who had started 71 consecutive games before missing the Jets’ Sunday loss to the New England Patriots with a shoulder injury. The streak began during Carpenter’s final season with the Seattle Seahawks, who made him a first-round pick (25th overall) upon his 2011 entry out of Alabama.
During his Seattle tenure, Carpenter was a part of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl triumph in 2014, a trek that ended with Super Bowl 48 at MetLife Stadium.
Carpenter, 30, is in the final year of a four-year, $19.1 million contract signed in 2015. He restructured the deal in 2016, opening up over $2 million in cap space for the Jets.
In his place, it’s expected that veteran Spencer Long will continue to line up at guard. Listed as a center, Long filled in admirably in his first game at guard since 2015. Head coach Todd Bowles cautiously praised Long’s performance during conference calls on Monday afternoon.
“He did some good things,” Bowls said. “Obviously not clean, just like everybody else, but he did some good things there.”
Taking Carpenter’s spot on the active roster will be fellow guard Ben Braden, who was promoted from the practice squad. Braden made the team’s initial 53-man roster after training camp but was waived on Sept. 12.
The team also added rookie running back Mark Thompson to the practice squad.
