Football season ahead
Who doesn’t love the season when we can start to expect the NFL to kick up again? Watching preseason games, emotionally preparing yourself for the excitement ahead, it is wondrous. It’s getting to that time of year again, and after the absolutely fantastic season that ended in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl, we cannot wait for it all to start up again. This is what you have been waiting for, isn’t it?
Whether you are just an avid lover of the sport, or if you just adore the gambling side of the game, it is an exciting time for sure. If you love betting on the NFL and football in general, you are probably preparing yourself for the months ahead, when tensions will be rife and the stakes high, you can always prepare yourself on fanduel.com, or you could simply prepare yourself by taking a look at what the preseason games ahead look like. As we all know, the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles will be finishing off their preseason on August 27th, 2021.
The Jets and the Eagles - what we know
Not far off from the official start of training camp, the Jets have been filling up their calendar for practice. New York are holding joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles on the 24th and 25th of August 2021, before they square off at their annual preseason matchup on the 27th.
The team also travelled to Green Bay for joint practices on the 18th and 19th of August with the Packers before their preseason game at Lambeau Field. These events mark up the Jets first joint practices since 2005 when the team practiced alongside the Giants.
The Jets schedule
So, what is the Jets schedule like? Well, notable Jets that we will see lining up against their former team include RB Josh Adams, DE Vinny Curry, as well as WR Manasseh Bailey. QB Joe Flacco is the only former Jet who will return for this. New York's ties to the Eagles run a bit deeper than those four players, since Joe Douglas spent four years in Philadelphia before becoming the general manager of the New York Jets.
From the matchup perspective, the Jets are also getting their first glance at Jalen Hurts, he is set to enter his first full season as a starting quarterback in Philadelphia. He will be testing a young secondary with the starting spots yet to be decided. However, on the other side we are also looking at Zach Wilson as well as Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Derek Barnet, and Ryan Kerrigan. The goal of joint practice is mainly for roster construction purposes, with the potential for several cuts on the horizon. However, for the Jets, it doesn’t hurt to take a few notes on the people across the field as well.
Injuries
As can always be expected in sports, there have been some injuries that have had players taken off the roster. To begin the training camp, the Jets have put DT Quinnen Williams, DT Jonathan Marshall, EDGE Kyle Phillips, and S Ashytn Davis all on the Active/ Physically Unable to Perform list. Williams was activated a few days ago but did not play against the Packers.
Players placed on this list might be activated to the active roster at any point prior to the season starting. However, if they remain on this list when the team cuts the roster down to 53 players, and they are not activated then they must be placed on the Reserve/ PUP list, which holds them out of the first six weeks of the regular season.
From this list, we know that Phillips is rehabbing from an ankle injury that ended his 2020 season after 7 games, Davis is also coming out of foot surgery and Marshall’s injury has not yet been disclosed, but he was seen working off to the side during minicamp.
We also know that DT Foley Fatukasi and S Marcus Maye have been placed on the Active/ Non-Football Injury list as well.
However, remember that as things draw closer anything could change, and the line-up still hangs in the balance up until the beginning of the season. Nothing is set in stone just yet.
Overall, remember
With football season starting back up, the Jets and the Eagles joint practice is the harbinger of its arrival, and the Preseason game on the 27th is the open door to the beginning of the season. What we know of what players will be involved in the preseason games, we cannot guarantee will be in the games ahead, as much can still change.
All you need to do right now is get excited about the season ahead, and the many games we have to look forward to, and if you are a bettor, get your head in the game and your finances balanced. It's the most wonderful time of the year!