Injury Blow for Jets as Rookie Wideout Omar Cooper Jr. Hits IR

Rookie Receiver Sidelined

The New York Jets have suffered a major blow ahead of their next game. Rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. has been placed on injured reserve due to a sprained ankle. The first round pick, who was selected 30th overall out of Indiana, is now set to miss at least four weeks.

Cooper made an instant impact in his debut during the Week 1 victory against the Tennessee Titans. On the very first possession, he caught a short pass, broke multiple tackles, and turned it into a 30 yard gain that set up a touchdown. Unfortunately, he played only four snaps before leaving the game with the injury. He did not practice all week and was ruled out on Friday. He is eligible to return on October 18 against the New England Patriots.

Depth Issues for the Jets

With Cooper sidelined, the Jets are facing a serious shortage of healthy receivers. He joins Tim Patrick on the injured reserve list. This leaves the team with only four active wide receivers for their upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium.

Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell will start. Behind them, the only options are Isaiah Williams and Arian Smith. Both backups saw very little action last week, with each being targeted only once. Smith dropped his only target.

To help with depth, the Jets signed veteran receivers Sterling Shepard and Tyler Johnson to their practice squad this week. However, neither player is expected to be promoted to the active roster for Sunday's game.

Because of this shortage, the Jets might rely heavily on their tight ends. The team has five tight ends on the roster and actually used all five of them on a single play during their 23-10 win over the Titans.