32-year old RB LaDainlian Tomlinson is going to miss at least a couple of weeks due to a sprained left MCL.  Tomlinson has played in 9 games for the Jets so far this year and he has carried the ball 46 times for 167 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 25 passes for 312 yards (12.5 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  The Jets will need 23-year old Joe McKnight to step up while L.T. is out of action.  McKnight has played in all 9 games for the Jets so far this year and he has carried the ball 19 times for 53 yards (2.8 ypc).  He also has caught 2 passes for 29 yards (14.5 avg) in 2011.

The Jets have finally placed 26-year old WR Logan Payne on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a wrist that he dislocated in the pre-season.  Payne didn’t play in any games for the Jets this year.  He has played in 2 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 3 passes for 39 yards (13.0 avg).  All of his catches came back in 2008 with the Seahawks.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Jets.

The New York Jets have lost 32-year old OLB Bryan Thomas for the rest of the year due to a torn Achilles tendon.  Thomas played in all four games for the Jets this year and he had 14 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  Thomas has now played in 145 games in his 10 years with the Jets and he has 418 tackles, 31 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 10 passes defensed and 36 tackles for a loss.  26-year old Jamaal Westerman will get the first shot to replace Thomas.  He has played in 4 games for the Jets so far this year and he has 9 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  Westerman has played in 24 games in his first three years for the Jets and he has 26 tackles, 1 sack, 4 fumble recoveries and 2 tackles for a loss.  The Jets better hope that Westerman is up to the challenge.

The Jets have placed 27-year old G/T Robert Turner on the Injured Reserve List, ending his 2011 season with a broken leg.  He didn’t get into any games for the Jets this year.  He has played in 41 games (2 starts) in his five years with the Jets.  The Jets should be able to find someone to replace Turner, as they won’t miss him too much.

The Jets have lost 24-year old backup TE Jeff Cumberland for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL.  Cumberland played in all 3 games this year for the Jets and he caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg).  He has now played in 4 games in his first two years with the Jets and he has caught 3 passes for 38 yards (12.7 avg).  This is a bad break for Cumberland as he was starting to get some P.T. this year behind Dustin Keller.  The Jets should be o.k. without him though.

The New York Jets will be without 27-year old center Nick Mangold for the next 2-3 weeks due to a high ankle sprain.  This is really going to hurt the offense as the Jets only have undrafted rookies Colin Baxter (Arizona) and Taylor Boggs (Humboldt State) behind Mangold on the depth chart.  They might look to bring in a free agent.  No matter which way they go, they are going to miss Mangold who is one of the best centers in all of football.  The Jets are only averaging 73.0 yards rushing per game and 3.0 yards per carry, and I think that’s where they are going to miss Mangold the most.

23-year old rookie QB Greg McElroy is looking good so far in the preseason.  The 7th round pick out of Alabama has gotten a ton of P.T. in the preseason due to ancient Mark Brunell being banged up.  McElroy has played in all three preseason games for the Jets so far and he has completed 33 of 53 passes (62.3%) for 306 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He has also carried the ball 7 times for 31 yards (4.4 ypc) in the preseason.  McElroy has certainly stepped up for the Jets in the preseason and they are likely very comfortable with him as the #3 QB.  He might even push Brunell for the #2 spot later in the year.

UPDATE:  (9/3/2011) – Greg McElroy completed 3 of 6 passes for 29 yards in the Jets’ last preseason game.  But, he dislocated his right thumb, which could cause him to miss the rest of the 2011 season.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Jets have placed Greg McElroy on Injured Reserve, ending his season.

The Jets have placed 33-year old starting RT Damien Woody on the Injured Reserve List due to a torn Achilles tendon.  Woody started 13 games for the Jets this year and he is considered the best run blocker on the team.  He has now played in 45 games (all starts) in his three years with the Jets.  This is a huge blow to the Jets going into the big showdown with the Patriots in Foxboro this weekend.  29-year old Wayne Hunter will replace Woody in the starting lineup and the team hopes he steps up.  Hunter has played in 14 games (4 starts) for the Jets this year and he has played in 44 games (5 starts) in his three years with the Jets.

The Jets have lost starting right offensive tackle Damien Woody for the rest of the season due to right knee surgery.  Woody played in 13 games (all starts) for the Jets this year.  Woody has now played in 45 games (all starts) in his first three seasons with the Jets.  29-year old Wayne Hunter is going to replace Woody and the Jets better hope he plays better than he did last week when he gave up 3 sacks.  Hunter has played in 11 games (1 start) for the Jets so far this year and he has played in 41 games (2 starts) in his first three years with the Jets.  At least Hunter won’t be blocking Sanchez’ blind side so he will at least be able to see the pass rush coming at him.

The Jets have lost 28-year old starting free safety Jim Leonhard for the year after he broke his leg in a collision with WR Patrick Turner in practice.  Leonhard played in 11 games for the Jets this year and he had 61 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 4 passes defensed, 1 interception and a fumble recovery.  He was also the Jets’ punt returner.  Leonhard returned 21 punts for 238 yards (11.3 avg) this year.  Eric Smith will replace Leonhard at safety.  Smith has played in 11 games so far this year and he has 43 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He should do a decent job.  CB Antonio Cromartie is going to get the first shot to replace Leonhard on punt returns.  He has only returned 1 punt for 4 yards so far in his NFL career.