Eric Mangini won’t say who’ll start at cornerback opposite Darrelle Revis. But count on it being rookie fourth-round draft pick Dwight Lowery, who’s had a terrific camp and preseason.
In fact, while speaking to The Post yesterday, Lowery, inadvertently slipped to indicate that he will, indeed, start.
“So when I go out there (to start) on Sunday . . .,” Lowery said, speaking about not wanting to let his teammates down, before catching himself and quickly adding, “or if I go out there on Sunday as a starter, I’ve got to have that mentality – I can’t let my teammates down.”
Justin Miller, who began camp as the starter, has a foot injury and has been limited in practice, and he might not be active for Sunday’s game.
When asked if Lowery would start, Mangini was typically vague, saying, “He’s been working with the ones (starters), but so has David (Barrett) and Drew Coleman.”
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As Jets S and defensive captain Kerry Rhodes stood at his locker yesterday morning, he was reading a special text message from a friend on his cell phone.
It read: “Please, no picks. Just PBUs.”
The friend was Chad Pennington, whom the Jets will face when they play the Dolphins on Sunday in Miami. Pennington was pleading with Rhodes not to pick off any of his passes, instead to limit his defensive plays to “PBUs” – pass breakups. “I just replied with a laugh out loud – LOL,” Rhodes said.
The Jets’ defenders will not be taking it easy on their former teammate.
“Chad was here a long time and he’s been practicing against this defense for a long time,” Revis said. “There’s going to be a lot of back and forth. Chad’s a great guy. We still care about him here and we respect him as a player.”
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Rhodes was still glowing about being appointed a team captain.
“It was a big honor,” he said. “That’s an award that comes from within; that’s your teammates, your peers. They’re looking to you as someone who does his job consistently, and someone they can count on. It’s definitely a big deal.”
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CB David Barrett (shoulder), WR Laveranues Coles (thigh), DE Shaun Ellis (hand), WR Marcus Henry (calf), DB Justin Miller (foot) and OL Damien Woody (shoulder) were listed as “limited participation in practice” on the injury report, but are expected to play Sunday.