It appears the New York Jets will be without rookie wide receiver Denzel Mims for the season opener, and possibly beyond.
Coach Adam Gase announced Friday that the second-round draft injured his other hamstring at practice Thursday after recently returning from an issue with his other leg that sidelined him for much of training camp.
Mims was on pace to play at Buffalo on Sunday after practicing fully Wednesday, but he got hurt again the next day and was not going to practice Friday. Gase acknowledged Mims' chances of playing appeared slim.
“We'll find out after practice, but it's not looking good,” Gase said.
The coach acknowledged that the new injury is not as serious as the original hamstring ailment that occurred a few days before training camp began last month. But Gase also wouldn't rule out the possibility of Mims ending up on injured reserve.
The team was cautious with Mims throughout the summer, easing him back onto the field before he fully participated earlier this week.
“I thought he was headed in the right direction mentally,” Gase said. “It’s a shame because I thought when we were doing routes versus air, I was seeing him really coming off the ball. The way he was running, the way he was executing some of the routes we were doing, I was getting kind of fired up.”
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The speedy Mims was drafted out of Baylor and is expected to be a key contributor on offense, complementing projected starters Jamison Crowder and Breshad Perriman. Gase thought Mims looked “a little tentative” on Wednesday, but “started juicing it up pretty good” during practice Thursday before he had to be pulled out.
“I feel like (crap) for him,” Gase said. “He worked really hard to get back. For it to be the other hamstring, he was really excited to get out there and for that to happen yesterday, I hated seeing him go through that.”
The Jets also have veteran Chris Hogan and Braxton Berrios as healthy wide receivers on the active roster, giving them four at the position. They could promote a player from the practice squad before the game, with Josh Malone, Lawrence Cager, D.J. Montgomery and Jaleel Scott all options.
In other injuries, middle linebacker Avery Williamson (hamstring) and running back La'Mical Perine (ankle) were not expected to practice Friday. Perine had already been unlikely to play as he continues to recover after spraining his ankle during the team's practice at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 30.
Safety Marcus Maye (ankle/calf) and quarterback Joe Flacco (neck) were expected to be limited.
Gase seemed optimistic about the chances of Maye, a team captain and defensive leader, being able to play against the Bills. He was a full participant Wednesday, but then didn't practice Thursday. Maye had missed the last few days of training camp with the calf issue, and then tweaked his ankle this week.
“It's one of those deals that I don't know exactly how it happened the other day, but he got kind of caught and somebody stepped on him,” Gase said. “It's been bothering him since the other day. ... The fact today that he's going to practice is a good sign.”
