Jets’ Garrett Wilson slowed by elbow injury but plans to play،
New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson may not throw another pass anytime soon, but his injured right elbow won’t keep him from facing the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
“It feels better,” Wilson told reporters Friday after practice. “I feel good, so we’re going to rock this weekend.”
But it won’t move at full power. Wilson admitted the injury would limit him.
“Yeah, but we’ll get there,” said Wilson, who is listed as questionable after practicing limitedly all week.
Wilson was injured in last week’s 16-12 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, but returned to the game and finished with nine catches for 93 yards.
Oddly enough, Wilson was called upon to execute a tricky play – a wide receiver pass – even after receiving medical treatment for his elbow. He threw a wobbly, off-target pass out of bounds, missing an open Allen Lazard. Wilson admitted the injury affected his throwing.
“I’m not going to pretend,” he said, smiling. “I wish I could have thrown that thing because it was a touchdown.”
This is a pivotal game for the Jets (4-5), who have lost two games in a row, and they absolutely need Wilson on the field. He leads the team with 55 catches for 642 yards and two touchdowns and has accounted for 35% of their receiving yards.
Wilson and running back Breece Hall (three) are the only Jets players to have more than one touchdown this season. As a team, the Jets have just eight, one lowest in the league.
Before practice, coach Robert Saleh was noncommittal on Wilson’s availability for Sunday, saying “everything is positive” but “there are a few hurdles he has to clear.”
“He’s been great and he’s working on it, and there’s just some things he’s not 100 percent with,” Saleh said. “Again, he’s been working really hard to try to get there and try to alleviate all the different pains that he’s having, but we’re going to continue to work with him and see.”
Wilson, the 2022 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, played a pivotal role behind the scenes this week. He was one of the driving forces behind a players-only meeting for the struggling offense.
“It was good to see us talking to each other,” he said. “I feel like it gives you a sense of confidence to hold the guys accountable for what we talked about in that players meeting. It’s the same for me; they hold me accountable for everything that I spoke. And that’s how it should be.”
