Jets Country

Keelan Cole Headlines Jets' Inactives vs. Panthers

New York Jets WR Keelan Cole is inactive for Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers along with a group including RB La'Mical Perine and CB Jason Pinnock

Max Goodman

Jets wide receiver Keelan Cole is officially inactive for Sunday's opener against the Panthers. 

The former Jaguars wideout, who signed this offseason in free agency, popped up on New York's injury report midway through the week with a knee injury.

Now, he and veteran Jamison Crowder—who led the Jets in receiving yards a year ago, but recently tested positive for COVID-19—won't play against Carolina.

Cole isn't the only one that's inactive for New York on Sunday. Running backs La'Mical Perine and Josh Adams, cornerback Jason Pinnock, linebacker Quincy Williams and defensive lineman Jonathan Marshall are all sidelined as well.

This injury update has the potential to have a huge impact on New York's offense. With Crowder and Cole out, expect to see Denzel Mims, Braxton Berrios and Jeff Smith get more snaps on the outside. We already knew rookie quarterback Zach Wilson was going to target Corey Davis and Elijah Moore quite a bit, but now he'll need to look for a spark from some guys that projected to be lower on the depth chart heading into the regular season as well.

Why Denzel Mims Could Have a Breakout Game Against the Panthers

Missing both Perine and Adams is a blow to the running game as well. Mike LaFleur's offense is rooted in running the football, providing different looks and giving different backs a plethora of carries. With those two out, even if they didn't factor into the equation too much when healthy, it places more pressure on veteran Tevin Coleman along with Ty Johnson and rookie Michael Carter to get the job done.

MORE:

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Jets Country and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

Published
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.

Home/News