The New York Jets officially ended the star-crossed seasons of two offensive starters, placing Chris Herndon and Brian Winters on IR.
For the 2019 New York Jets, even the aftermath of victory is mixed with tough breaks.
The team announced on Tuesday that tight end Chris Herndon and guard Brian Winters will be placed on injured reserve. Such a move will officially end their respective 2019 seasons.
Herndon (fractured rib) prematurely ends what’s been a dreary calendar year for him. The second-year man out of Miami partook in just one game this season, last Sunday’s 34-27 win over the New York Giants. He was suspended for the first four games of the season, an absence stemming from a DWI incident in June 2018. Herndon was ruled eligible to return after Week 5’s visit to Philadelphia, but he missed three further games with a hamstring issue. His final 2019 statline features one reception for seven yards in Sunday’s game.
These setbacks follow a breakout rookie year for the fourth-round selection in 2018. Herndon finished second on the team with 39 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns. Those tallies were also tops in the NFL amongst rookie tight ends.
Winters has been a career-long Jet since entering the league as a 2013 third-round pick from Kent State. He had started all nine games this season before re-dislocating his shoulder on Sunday. The blocker had started all 16 games for the Jets last season, doing so for the first time in his career.
To make up for the losses, the Jets called up cornerback Kyron Brown from the practice squad and signed linebacker B.J. Bello. Brown, an undrafted rookie out of Akron, was one of the team’s final summer cuts and was immediately added to the practice squad after his Sept. 1 release.
He earned five tackles in the Jets’ preseason opener against the Giants in August. Bello returns to the Jets after a brief tenure earlier this season, signed on Oct. 30 and released on Nov. 8. He partook in the Jets’ Nov. 3 loss in Miami, where he earned one tackle. The linebacker has also spent time on Green Bay’s practice squad this season.
The Jets (2-7) will return to action this Sunday afternoon, finishing their interconference slate against the Washington Redskins (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
