The Jets came into Thursday night’s game with the Houston Texans shorthanded on the offensive line and then lost a pair of linemen to injuries in the first half.
And in the “next man up” league, responsibility fell on Olu Fashanu – who cross-trained at right and left tackle throughout the preseason – to jump into service at right guard, something he had never done in the NFL, college or even high school.
“Not very much, very, very little,” Ulbrich said after the game about how much New York’s first-round pick had practiced at guard.
That turned out to be a bit of an understatement. Fashanu told SNY’s Connor Hughes that he had not taken a single rep at guard until he got in the game on Thursday, and center Joe Tippmann was telling him what to do each play after Jake Hanson left with an injury.
Max Mitchell, another reserve tackle pressed into service at left guard after starter Josh Simpson exited the game, said the rookie “was drinking water through a fire hose.”
“Gotta give him and Max a lot of credit,” Aaron Rodgers said after the game. “Max played a ton of tackle for us last year and I believe he played a little bit of right guard, I don’t know if he played any left guard. So for him to step in like that was fantastic.”
On Fashanu, the quarterback said he was “proud of him.”
“He got kind of a welcome to the NFL moment on a pull he had to the left, but he’s a tough kid, he’s a good kid, man. He was great in the huddle,” Rodgers said.
“Remarkable, is the only word I can give it,” Ulbrich said Friday morning about Fashanu’s play the night before. “Here’s a guy that, minus walk-through reps, minus drill-work at practice, that’s his only exposure to this position. No live reps, no team reps, and to go in there and function like he did it’s unbelievable.
“Just a testament to the young man he is.”
Of course, it wasn’t entirely perfect for him on the night. The 21-year-old was called for a holding penalty that negated Rodgers’ 13-yard scramble on a 3rd-and-9. But that misstep wasn’t fatal to Gang Green, as on the next play Garrett Wilson made the most spectacular catch for the Jets in recent memory.
“For him to step in, especially a rookie to step in and play a position he’s not really familiar with, was exceptional. Even the holding call, I’d like to take a second look at that one,” the head coach said.
Rodgers also had praise for the veterans of the line — tackles Morgan Moses (“an absolute legend of a human being”) and Tyron Smith — for keeping the offense on track.
“I thought [they] played really, really well,” the 40-year-old passer said. “But more than that, their energy and their confidence and their leadership was really special.”
Ulbrich didn’t have updates on the injuries to Simpson (groin) or Hanson (hamstring) when he spoke with the media on Friday morning. And with the Jets, who might still not have guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle) back, there will be time for Fashanu and Mitchell to get some additional work on the interior of the line before traveling to play the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10.
Injury Updates
The Jets placed wide receiver Allen Lazard (chest) on injured reserve on Thursday and Ulbrich did not have a timetable for his return.
“It’s a strange one as far as the time it takes to heal,” the head coach said Friday. “It’s a really weird range of time.”
He added that the move was done to give the seven-year veteran “an opportunity to get four weeks to just get fully healthy and get ready to finish this season off strong with us.”
“Putting him to IR was a decision we made based upon a really funky injury that we just wanted to make sure we didn’t rush him back,” Ulbrich said, without fully disclosing the specific injury to the wide receiver.
Kicker Greg Zuerlein, who had struggled this year, was also added to IR ahead of Thursday’s game after sustaining an injury during the week.
“He was out there training, doing his normal kicking routine and some things came up medically,” Ulbrich said. “We thought the best decision was put him on IR and give him an opportunity to get healthy.”
Riley Patterson was added to the roster and made all three extra points (the first one banked in off the left upright) and did not attempt a field goal in his Jets debut.
