Despite growing concerns over the health of one of the Jets’ key players on offense, Forte is confident he’ll be able to play in the season opener against Cincinnati on September 11.
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“Good to hit some of the offensive linemen and get back in the groove”, a sweat-soaked Wilkerson said after practice. But on this day and in this practice, there were two reasons for the Jets to feel better about themselves. He has yet to participate in team drills. He did individual drills Tuesday, though, as he did Sunday. It’s a sure sign of progress. “When he’s back, he’s back”, Jets coach Todd Bowles said of Forte. He said sometimes he wouldn’t play at all in the first game, get a couple of series in the second and play about a half in the third. “I don’t have a timetable for him”. “We got him some reps today, first time taking team reps”. Forte has missed so much practice time that I don’t think it would be a bad idea to get him out there to get into rhythm as long as he is on a pitch count. “They’ve had to hold me back personally because if not, if it were up to me, I’d be going at it every day to try to be out there on my own terms”.
But while it’s been frustrating, Forte also sees the big picture. “But you don’t want to do something where – a lot of times they have to protect me from myself, so I don’t overwork or do something where I have a setback”.
“It’s taken a lot longer than I expected because we’ve been super cautious”, said Forte.
Forte wasn’t the only pleasant surprise at Jets camp on Wednesday.
Forte will obviously be a name to watch over the next few weeks of preseason action.
“I’m definitely playing [in the first game]”. In 2013 he had 18 preseason touches in three games. Bowles said Forte will warm up with the team in Washington on Friday night, and there’s a chance he’ll play in the Jets-Redskins game. He would like to see a few snaps against the Giants on August 27, the last game most of the team’s starters will play. But if he’s not ready then, and can’t play in any of the preseason games, he’s still confident he can be ready for Week 1.
There is no guarantee, of course, that at age 30 and with a ton of National Football League mileage on his legs, Forte is still capable of consistently making plays like that this season. “It’s not tackling to the ground, so to speak, but I’ve had enough of that”.
“Yeah, we hashed it out”, Fitzpatrick said, in a deadpan manner.
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But with a veteran like Forte, that’s less of a concern. “Whether it’s individuals, inside, outside, I just wait for guys to practice”.
