A foregone conclusion turned into a reality Tuesday when Jets rookie receiver Shaq Evans underwent shoulder surgery then was put on season-ending injured reserve.
Evans tweeted Tuesday morning: “Going under the knife today. Praying for a speedy recovery! #prayforme #minorsetbackforamajorcomeback”
The fourth-round pick from UCLA got hurt in the first week of training camp in Cortland. He was put on IR Tuesday night, but not waived.
In other injury news, rookie WR Jalen Saunders watched practice from the sidelines four days after suffering a “medical event” that led to a one-car accident and his being hospitalized. Coach Rex Ryan declined to get into any details about the incident, other than to say it was a one-time occurrence and not chronic.
“Well, no. This is just an isolated incident,’’ Ryan said. Asked if this was not a preexisting condition, he replied, “That’s my understanding.’’
Saunders is expected to address his situation with the media Wednesday. He won’t play Friday vs. the Giants, and his timetable for a return to practice is uncertain.
The Bengals didn’t seem too happy about the Jets blitzing their backups Saturday. Ryan didn’t seem to care.
“Notice he didn’t bring that stuff when our starters were out there,” Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We’d have scored quicker. If he wants to put his starting defense out there and blitz all that garbage against our third-stringers, if he feels good about it, then all the power to him.’’
“I thought they’d probably be surprised that we played nothing but coverage early in the game. I’m trying to see what we had. Maybe that was probably the big surprise,’’ Ryan said. “But our starters, they never played into the second half.
“They played in the first half and that’s where we played our guys. That’s from Day 1. I don’t know why they’d be shocked. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t worry about their team. We’re just trying to focus on our team and what’s best for us.’’
CBs Dimitri Patterson (leg) and Ras-I Dowling (groin) both returned on a limited basis, along with RB Chris Ivory (ribs) and C Nick Mangold (toe). TE Jeff Cumberland did positional drills. Dee Milliner (ankle) and Saunders (medical event) watched from the sideline — Milliner without his boot.