FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets running back Breece Hall won’t practice Wednesday and coach Aaron Glenn said he’s considered “week to week” as he recovers from a quadriceps injury.
Hall, the Jets’ leading rusher, is expected to miss the game Sunday at Chicago. He was hurt early in the fourth quarter of New York’s 31-24 loss at Detroit last Sunday when down while being forced out of bounds after running for no gain.
In addition to Hall, Glenn said left guard Dylan Parham (knee), wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (finger), tight end Mason Taylor (thumb) and linebacker Kiko Mauigoa (quadriceps) will also not practice and be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.
Hall, who was held to just 32 yards on 13 carries against the Lions, will be replaced by Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis in the Jets’ backfield. Hall, signed to a three-year contract extension worth up to $45.75 million in May, had 102 yards and a touchdown in the season opener at Tennessee and ran for 29 yards against Green Bay in Week 2.
Allen has 61 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries this season while serving as Hall’s primary backup. The third-year running back played in just four games last season after suffering a knee injury, but has shown he’s now fully healthy.
Davis, also in his third season, missed a large part of training camp with a knee injury. He has no carries or catches this season while playing only on special teams during the first three games.
“He’s going to get his shot,” Glenn said. “I’ve always said with those three guys, man, listen, I’m good with any of them and they’ll go out there and make plays for us.”
Parham was hurt in the third quarter against Detroit during a sack of Geno Smith. He was replaced by Landon Meredith, who could do so again Sunday at Chicago.
Mitchell, Taylor and Mauigoa all missed the game last week with their injuries.
In positive injury news, Glenn said safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was expected to be limited at practice Wednesday and has a chance to play Sunday after injuring his groin early in the season opener.
Fitzpatrick, who had sat out practice since the injury, has been replaced the past two weeks by Andre Cisco.
Tight ends Kenyon Sadiq and Jeremy Ruckert, and running back/kick returner Kene Nwangwu are also expected to be limited, but like Fitzpatrick, Glenn was optimistic about all of their chances of playing.
New Jets lineman Nick Dawkins has some familiar bloodlines
With Parham out and the offensive line struggling, the Jets signed center Nick Dawkins — son of the late NBA star Darryl Dawkins — to the practice squad on Tuesday.
The younger Dawkins was signed by Baltimore in the spring as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State, where he was teammates for four seasons with current Jets left tackle Olu Fashanu. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Dawkins was released by the Ravens as part of their final roster cuts in August.
Dawkins’ backboard-smashing father isn’t the only famous athlete in the family. Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins is a distant cousin and Karl-Anthony Towns of the defending NBA champion New York Knicks is his father’s godson.
He remembers being about 7 years old when his mother found a collection on YouTube of some of the NBA’s top 10 plays — and his father was featured prominently.
“We’re just watching them and the last, like, three clips, I think No. 1 and No. 3 were him breaking the backboard,” Dawkins recalled with a big smile. “I was like, ‘Oh!’ And he was just so cool as a cucumber, man. He was like, ‘That’s what I do, yeah.’”
Nick Dawkins was only 13 when his father died of a heart attack on Aug. 27, 2015, at 58. Darryl Dawkins last played in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons during the 1988-89 season, but he continued his professional career into his early 40s with stints in Italy, the Harlem Globetrotters, the NBA G League and the USBL. He was coaching when his son was born in 2002, but family, friends and former teammates and opponents have shared plenty of tales over the years.
“I’m just jealous of them because a lot of these people got to see him on TV, see him in real life, in like real time, in present time, and I only got to hear stories,” said Nick Dawkins, now 24. “His personality was larger than life and a lot of times when people come and talk to me talk about something crazy he did or something, it was always in good nature, always to help people. I always appreciate it because I know him as my dad.”
Dawkins said he watched clips of his father’s NBA days before every game he played at Penn State.
“I couldn’t really tell you why,” he said. “Maybe it’s a little bit of grief still. For some reason, it was just part of my routine and they got me ready to play.”
And he knows his father would be proud of his journey.
“To have the opportunity to compete for a spot on the NFL team, I mean, I was on the couch a couple of days ago thinking about my mortality and my professional career and whatever that may be,” he said. “So my dad would say just have fun with it, show gratitude to everyone and remember how blessed you are.”
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Dennis Waszak Jr., The Associated Press
