On Saturday night, New York Jets number one wide receiver Quincy Enuwa suffered a neck injury in practice. At first, the injury was not thought to be too serious, with head coach Todd Bowles saying it was similar to the injury that held Enuwa out of spring workouts. However, further analysis and an MRI has revealed the injury to be much worse.
Enuwa will miss the entire 2017-18 season
It has been reported that Quincy Enuwa has a bulging disk in his neck and will now undergo season-ending surgery. The New York Jets team doctors do not consider the injury to be career threatening, but he is facing a six to nine month recovery period.
Bowles said that the neck injury Enuwa suffered stemmed from his earlier neck injury, which team doctors deemed “treatable.”
Enuwa was then declared healthy for the start of training camp. As Bowles stated “He was doing fine. When he fell the other night, it flared up.” This referred to Enuwa falling face first on the turf and staying on the ground for several minutes after dropping a pass in practice, sustaining the season-ending injury.
Possible breakout season will have to wait
Quincy Enuwa was drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Nebraska by the New York Jets. During his rookie season, he only played in the week 17 game against the Miami Dolphins and did not record any stats.
He was then suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season for violating the league's personal conduct policy. That year he had 22 receptions for 315 yards.
Last season, Enuwa played in all 16 games and started 13 of them, after being thrust into that role following Eric Decker's injury. He put up 58 receptions for 857 yards and 4 touchdowns, putting up similar numbers to Brandon Marshall.
His best performance was in a week 11 loss to the New England Patriots. He had 5 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.
Who is next in line for the Jets?
Quincy Enuwa led all Jets receivers in career receptions (80), yards (1,172), touchdowns (4) and career starts (13). Their next most experienced receiver is Marquess Wilson, who spent his first four seasons with the Bears.
However, he might not even make the team. Second-year player and undrafted free agent Robbie Anderson, who has 42 catches for 587 yards and 2 touchdowns last season, is now the projected top option.
Behind him are two other second year players who played a bit last season, seventh round pick Charone Peake and Jalin Marshall, who went undrafted. However, Marshall is suspended for the first four games for violating the league's drug policy. There are also rookies ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen, who were drafted in the third and fourth rounds respectively.