What Carl Lawson's Season-Ending Injury Means For the Jets

The New York Jets lost a premier pass rusher for the season when DE Carl Lawson tore his achilles. The Jets defense will need to rely on depth in his place
What Carl Lawson's Season-Ending Injury Means For the Jets
What Carl Lawson's Season-Ending Injury Means For the Jets /

Carl Lawson's season-ending injury is an incalculable loss for the New York Jets

The defensive end tore his Achilles tendon on Thursday during a joint practice with the Packers in Green Bay, ending his first season in green and white before it even began.

Lawson was poised to be the face of a dominant pass rush in 2021, showcasing his ability to get to the quarterback off the edge by racking up sacks all throughout training camp.

Factor the 26-year-old's fit in Robert Saleh's defensive scheme with the potential he showed in Cincinnati last season—credited with a league-best 26 QB knockdowns—and this truly could've been a career year for the Auburn product. 

That's a moot point now, though. New York no longer has the type of premier pass rusher that Lawson was shaping up to be.

So, where do the Jets go from here? 

The first step is coming to terms with the bitter reality of the situation. Lawson is irreplaceable and his absence is in all likelihood going to have an adverse effect on the rest of New York's defense. 

It means quarterbacks won't have to worry about their blind side as much, providing signal-callers with precious seconds in the pocket to dismantle the Jets' inexperienced secondary down the field. It also means Quinnen Williams, or whoever else is playing well up front, will get double-teamed more.

Now, that's not to say New York doesn't have depth on the defensive line. Williams could take another big step forward in 2021 while returning linemen like Folorunso Fatukasi and John Franklin-Myers can hold it down as well.

You can even throw names like Bryce Huff—who had a strong preseason opener last weekend—Nathan Shepherd and Jabari Zuniga into that conversation.

Plus, Lawson wasn't the only pass rusher that was brought in this offseason. New York also added Sheldon Rankins, Vinny Curry and Ronald Blair in free agency. In other words, with the depth this team has at that position, we'll see a rotation and defensive line by committee.

"We can truly come at them in waves," Saleh said earlier this month before Lawson's injury. "We usually activate eight guys on defense on the D-line, and we want all eight playing a significant amount." 

There's always a chance the Jets could sign another edge rusher, or even try to trade for one, but with that aforementioned depth, it makes sense for Saleh's squad to run with what they have left.

It won't be the same without Lawson, but it's certainly a start.

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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.