Jets Country

What Exactly Happened to Mike White's Forearm in New York's Loss to the Colts?

New York Jets quarterback Mike White suffered a nerve contusion in his right forearm on Thursday against the Indianapolis Colts, per head coach Robert Saleh.

Max Goodman

On Thursday night, Jets quarterback Mike White was forced to sit out for the majority of New York's loss to the Colts, unable to grip the football due to a forearm injury.

Now, after an update from head coach Robert Saleh, we have more information as to what exactly happened to White's throwing arm and whether or not the backup will be ready for next week's game.

"From my understanding it was a nerve contusion, so the nerve just went dead on him. He couldn’t grab the ball," Saleh told reporters on Friday, still digesting a 45-30 loss to the Colts.

Throwing a game-tying touchdown to rookie Elijah Moore toward the end of the first quarter, White celebrated with his teammates. With the way he was orchestrating the offense early on, it looked like the backup was poised to sprinkle some more magic under center, possibly leading this team to another upset victory.

When he returned to the sideline, however, White began to feel discomfort, describing the sensation as numbness in his fingers. With the adrenaline from the touchdown pass wearing off, White said he was unable to summon the grip and power necessary to keep playing.

As time passed, with some treatment on the sideline, White eventually felt better. By then, the Jets were already losing big and third-string quarterback Josh Johnson was rolling, though. That's why White never returned to the game.

"It wasn’t until darn near the fourth quarter that he could finally grip the ball and feel it," Saleh explained. "Now it’s just a matter of just the contusion and the swelling going down and getting his arm strength back."

Saleh added that while White is considered day-to-day, he's trending in the direction of being available on Sunday against the Bills. With starter Zach Wilson also approaching his return—working back from a sprained PCL in his right knee—Saleh said he wasn't sure who will be playing quarterback at MetLife Stadium next weekend.

"We’ll see where they are from an injury standpoint," Saleh said. "We’ll see how far along Zach is, Mike, and we’ll go from there. So, like I said, with Mike, it’s trending in that direction. With Zach, it’s trending in that direction. It’s still day-to-day and we’ll get a lot more information as we get closer to Monday and then Wednesday."

Either way, the strength of Gang Green's quarterback room has been on full display over these last several weeks. Wilson's arm talent is indisputable, both White and Johnson have produced tremendous performances against stout defensive units in Wilson's place and all the while, Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco sits on the bench, waiting for his number to be called.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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