Breece Hall's Backup Emerging at Jets Camp?

Three-man competition for carries unfolding in Florham Park

While starting running back Breece Hall continues to work out on the side, his understudies are entrenched in an on-field battle for the New York Jets' RB2 role.

"Love the running back room. We do have four really good ones," said Saleh. "There is some competition already between Izzy, Michael and Bam to try to get the 2 and 3 spots, if you will."

Amidst the speculation of the Jets possibly adding free agent Dalvin Cook, third-year pro Michael Carter, 2022 undrafted signee Zonovan "Bam" Knight and fifth-round rookie Israel Abanikanda attempt to make their case for primary backup duties.

"I feel good about it. Obviously, I've done it before," said Carter following the first padded practice of camp. "I just want to do the best I can. No need to rush him [Hall] back. It's not extra pressure."

Carter led the Jets with 114 carries last season, but his 3.5 yards per rush average represented a noticeable drop-off from a promising rookie year performance.

"I did get some tough looks last year. At one point, I was probably leading the league in stacked boxes," said Carter. "There were some moments where I could've came up big and I probably didn't, but every year is different."

Carter has been taking ample training camp reps with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the first team offense, but Knight has gotten plenty of run with the starters, too.

Prepping for his sophomore season, Knight has taken advantage of multiple training camp opportunities thus far. 

The 5-foot-11 bruiser wowed the crowd during two straight Sunday practices. On July 23, Knight made a nice cut and found room to run up the middle for what would have been a 15+ yard gain. Then, in the padded session this past Sunday, the second-year pro accounted for two explosive outside runs that moved the chains.

In the team's third practice wearing pads on July 27, Knight scored two touchdowns during a red zone period to help the offense win the day.

Knight burst onto the scene in Week 12 last year, gaining 100+ yards from scrimmage in each of his first two career appearances. His production, however, fell steeply down the stretch.

In April, the Jets used a fifth-round draft selection on a different style of ball carrier. Abanikanda, who won the Atlantic Coast Conference rushing title last year, is a "home run hitter" with top-level speed.

The Brooklyn-born Abanikanda has ripped off a few longs runs thus far, including a house call during the first padded practice on July 25.

As a rookie, however, the Pitt product faces challenges that Carter and Knight have already conquered.

"The sense of urgency is the one thing," said Saleh. "It was no different than with Breece [Hall] last year. Just a sense of urgency, the finish, the running through contact, all the different things that they didn’t have to do in practice when they were [in college], I’m assuming anyway, but his level of urgency is just going to have to catch up with what the standard is around here."

While Knight looks to be the leader through the first nine preseason practices from an outside perspective, the upcoming games should provide a much more revealing picture of where the race for the RB2 spot stands.

"It’s a chance for all of them, especially when the preseason games hit to carry the rock," said Saleh.

As for the possibility of adding Cook to the mix, Saleh said the Jets are "not pressing" the four-time Pro Bowler to make a decision. The third-year head coach has also suggested that the team's pursuit of Cook, who visited on Sunday, should not be viewed as dissatisfaction with Gang Green's current collection of ball carriers.

"You’re trying to add depth and make sure that the rotation stays the same. Another kid might be thinking, well shoot, they don’t like me. Well, it’s not necessarily the case," said Saleh. "It takes maturation to get to the point where it doesn’t matter whether who they bring in."

The Jets open the NFL Preseason on Thursday, August 3 against the Cleveland Browns in the Hall of Fame Game, which will be carried live by NBC.

QB Aaron Rodgers (8) and RB Michael Carter (32) / © Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

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