NY Jets: Seferian-Jenkins Not In Game Shape

Austin Seferian-Jenkins comes off the NFL suspended list this week. The hope is that he can give the moribund Jets offense a spark. However, head coach Todd Bowles is not guaranteeing ASJ will even see the field on Sunday, citing the fact that he “has got to get in a little better shape.”

It is difficult to understand how a player who was supposedly in the best shape of his life less than three weeks ago goes from that to a question mark to even see the field on Sunday for a team desperate for whatever spark he might provide. For a player with ASJ’s checkered past, a player who ballooned to almost offensive lineman size last year, a player who has struggled with alcohol abuse and trouble with his conditioning his entire career, it is more than a tad alarming that said player can go from stud of training camp to so out of shape he might not play in a short two week suspension.

This may just be a smokescreen by the Jets, and they have no real concerns here but are looking for a strategic edge with misinformation. However, it bears watching. If ASJ is legitimately out of shape following just a short two week suspension, his last, best chance to make his mark in the NFL might be beginning to slip away.