THIS HURTS: Santonio Holmes writhes on the turf after fumbling a ball picked up by 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers during the fourth quarter of the Jets 34-0 loss to San Francisco yesterday. Holmes was carted off with a left foot injury. (Getty Images)
Seven days after the Jets lost superstar Darrelle Revis for the season with a torn ACL, the team might be without another of its best players for an extended period.
In yesterday’s 34-0 loss to the 49ers, Santonio Holmes suffered what appeared to be a significant left foot injury, requiring him to be helped off the field and carted to the locker room.
X-rays came back negative, but Holmes will have an MRI exam today to check for ligament or tendon damage. If he’s out for a while, it would be another crushing blow for the Jets.
“It’s not good. Santonio catches a lot of balls,” wideout Chaz Schilens said. “[The] offense runs through him. [It’s] part of football…. We just have to figure out a way to make it workI don’t know what to tell you.”
It’s probably better left unsaid. Consider the Jets’ remaining receivers are Schilens, rookie Stephen Hill (out yesterday with a hamstring injury), Jeremy Kerley, Patrick Turner and Clyde Gates. That’s an unimpressive group, and, keep in mind, tight end Dustin Keller was also out a third straight week with a hamstring injury.
Schilens started for Hill, so if Hill and Holmes are both out next Monday against Houston, the Jets might have to start Schilens and Turner, who was re-signed last week. Asked if there are enough weapons at the skill spots with Holmes out, Mark Sanchez said there’s no alternative.
“Well, we’re going to have to. What are we going to do? We can’t just not show up,” the quarterback said. “We’ve got to play and we’ve got to play better than we did today no matter who’s out there.
“There’s some great ability in that room, in that receiver room, so they’ll have to pick up the slack.”
Holmes’ injury happened on the first play of the fourth quarter after he caught a four-yard pass to the San Francisco 40-yard line. He slipped to the field, untouched, actually tossing the ball away as he went down. Niners cornerback Carlos Rogers picked it up and ran 51 yards for a touchdown.
Holmes was down in front of the 49ers sideline before being helped off the field and eventually carted away. According to Hill, as Holmes departed the field, he said to the rookie: “It’s time for you to get healthy and it’s time for you to get back on the field.”
“It’s going to hurt. You know what type of player Tone is,” safety Yeremiah Bell said. “Tone is Tone. Revis is Revis. When you lose those guys, you lose important guys. But the season goes onWe’ve got younger guys who play the position who are going to have to step up.”
After last season’s chemistry issues, some people wanted Holmes gone, and while he had gone 27 games without a 100-yard performance before last week’s nine-catch, 147-yard explosion against Miami, the fact is that he’s easily the Jets’ best wide receiver. As Hill admitted: “It would be a big loss.”
Hill said his hamstring is improving but didn’t specify when he’d be able to practice or play.
Cornerback Kyle Wilson, meanwhile, joked of Holmes’ potential absence: “I’m going to play wide receiver.”— Additional reporting by Brian Costello