Rookie tight end Jace Amaro has overcome his early struggles in training camp and is showing he might be able to be a major contributor this season for the Jets.
Amaro had four catches for 37 yards and a touchdown in Friday’s 35-24 preseason loss to the Giants.
Amaro, the team’s second-round pick, made headlines early in training camp for dropping passes and looking confused while running routes, but he has rebounded to play well in the preseason games.
Friday’s was his best. He caught the first pass of the game from Geno Smith for a 15-yard gain. He then scored the Jets’ first touchdown, a 1-yard score on which he was wide open in the back of the end zone.
“I told you guys he reminds me of [Mike] Ditka the more I see him,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “The kid gets better and better and better. That’s the thing you love about this guy. His blocking when he first got here, I was like, ‘ohh,’ but now he’s competing. He’s doing all that kind of stuff. The kid works. He works his tail off. That’s why I think we all see the improvement that he’s making. I’m excited about it. That’s a big, old target to throw to.
Jeff Cumberland has a strained left Achilles tendon, so Amaro has started the last two games and played a majority of the snaps. Amaro looks like he belongs and could be a major weapon for Smith and the Jets offense.
Linebacker Quinton Coples had a big night. He had four tackles, one for a loss, and was very active.
Coples sometimes gets criticized for taking plays off, but he was all over the field Friday night. The Jets are counting on a big year from Coples coming off the edge.
Right guard Willie Colon was fined $8,268 by the NFL for unnecessary roughness in last week’s game against the Bengals. Colon hit Cincinnati cornerback Terence Newman after the whistle during a minor scrap.
Cornerback Antonio Allen (concussion) and linebacker Troy Davis (knee) left in the second quarter and did not return.
Cornerbacks Dimitri Patterson (calf, ankle, quad) and Dee Milliner (ankle), wide receiver Jalen Saunders (illness), linebackers IK Enemkpali (foot) and Antwan Barnes (PUP) and Cumberland were not in uniform.
First-round pick Calvin Pryor made his first start at safety. … Cornerback Darrin Walls started in place of Patterson. … Backup quarterback Matt Simms did a version of Victor Cruz’s salsa dance after throwing a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.