Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Monday that “we’ll go day by day” with quarterback Mike White, who suffered what appears to be just some bruised ribs on a massive hit during Sunday’s loss to Buffalo, but the team expects to have him available this weekend.
White, speaking Monday, feels the same way.
“I feel good, and I’m going to prepare as such. I feel like I can play, and I’m ready to roll,” White said Monday, the day after there was worry he’d be lost for the game for sure, if not a few weeks.
White was hurt midway through the second quarter when he took a big hit on a completion to Elijah Moore, and he left the game for just two plays. However, he was hit hard again in the third quarter, and this time, he missed the rest of that series and the next one…but returned to play most of the fourth quarter despite a scary situation.
“At first when I was on the ground I couldn’t catch my breath, and that was the toughest part,” White said of the second hit. “Once I did, I was able to get up and walk off, and we got X-rays to make sure everything was good.”
The X-rays ‘were cool’ according to White, and that was all the impetus he needed to say he wanted back in.
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“I knew if everything was fine I was going in – you would have had to peel me off that field,” White said. “It was never in my mind that I wasn’t finishing the game.”
White did go to the hospital after the game for further evaluation, but that checked out all good.
“I just went there to get a CT scan just to make sure I was good to go for flying, which I was with no issues, and I was back on the team plane before I knew it,” White said.
“I won’t get into details, but I just know that what they saw was good enough to get him on the plane,” Saleh said. “Just talking to him, he feels good, so we’re just trying to let this play out. He’s fresh off the game, so we’ll see how things play out over the next few days.”
So, how did White feel Monday?
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“I feel good. I don’t feel like a million bucks because I just played a football game, but I feel good,” White said. “I picked my kids up out of the crib this morning and played with them a little bit, they tackled me and I feel fine. So, I feel good.”
The team expects White to go, but now, the wonder turns to whether or not Flacco, who was 1-for-3 and lost a fumble in his two replacement stints, will continue to be the backup, or Zach Wilson may get another shot given White’s iffy health.
“Zach’s fine, he’s ready for everything,” Saleh said, “but, at the same time, I have to meet with the staff and just make sure we finish the evaluation process and all that, so that’s another thing I’ll have answers for you on Wednesday.”
Wilson was inactive for the third straight game since being replaced as the starter by White, but according to Saleh, he is making good progress.
“He’s been working hard for the last couple of weeks and is in a great mental head space, so he’s ready for whatever we ask out of him,” Saleh said. “It’s a lot of communication, making sure everyone is on the same page, but he’s been improving and doing his part the last couple weeks, so just things we have to talk about.”
The Jets have a tough remaining schedule, beginning Sunday with the surging Lions, so whomever is under center will need to be on top of their game for Gang Green to keep their playoff hopes alive.
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