Tag: michael carter

There were some high expectations for Jets running back Michael Carter entering this season.

Carter showed a lot of promise as a rookie in 2021 and figured to be a big part of the offense this season. But things have not gone as planned. Carter has 111 rushes for 398 yards and three touchdowns, all a drop off from his 147-carry, 639-yard, four-touchdown rookie season.

“I feel like I did some stuff well,” Carter said this week before Sunday’s finale against the Dolphins. “I feel like I could have done a lot more, but opportunities are something in this game, of course they’re earned, but sometimes it’s not.”

Carter said he was not complaining about a lack of touches. He led the team with 150 touches this season. He sounded more upset that he was mostly a third-down back this season and was not given the chance to do some different things.

The Jets had Breece Hall rolling early then traded for James Robinson before playing Zonovan Knight then Ty Johnson late. It felt like all season the Jets did not trust Carter to be the lead back.

Some of that clearly bothered Carter, something he said he has to learn from.

“I feel like I had a really good offseason,” Carter said. “The preparation has to meet opportunity. I feel like I was prepared. I feel like I came in in really good shape during OTAs and minicamp. I feel like I had one of the best camps. I just feel like it’s a long season and things happen. There are things that are out of my control. I feel like I do my best to control what I can and try not to let the external factors get to me.

“I think I kind of let stuff like that get to me.”

Carter said this season was a learning experience and he is excited about applying those lessons going forward.

“Sometimes you have to get knocked down to know if you’re going to get up,” Carter said. “I feel like that’s what this season has been about, showing myself who I am and proving to myself that I know I am who I say I am regardless of what goes on around me.”

Coach Robert Saleh said this week that sometimes a player’s second season is a challenge, and he expects Carter to rebound.

“He’s still someone that I think is going to have a really good bounce back in terms of, he still has a chance this week, but he is not done writing his story,” Saleh said. “He’s not the first nor the last second-year player to kind of get sidetracked or not have the year he wanted to have.

“But he’s got all the capability in the world, he’s got the speed, the body contact balance, breaks tackles, has great vision, he’s very smart, he’s got all of those tools and I think just another offseason for him, but again, that goes back to development and why I always say it takes three years because for some reason league-wide that second year, there’s always kind of a hiccup for one reason or another, but he’s one of those kids where you just feel confident that in year three he’s going to, he’ll bust loose.”

The Jets signed safety Will Parks, DE Bradlee Anae, OL Eric Smith, OL Adam Pankey and WR Irvin Charles to the active roster. They placed the following players on IR: S Lamarcus Joyner, CB Brandin Echols, OT Duane Brown, OT George Fant and G Nate Herbig.

Jets running back Breece Hall figures it can’t get any worse.

Hall had some tough moments in his NFL debut last week against the Ravens, with a fumble in the red zone and a dropped pass.

“Obviously, I felt like I could have done a lot better,” Hall said. “I had a dropped pass and a fumble and everything like that. I felt like I had all my rookie moments in one day. It was good to get that out of the way. Just knowing that the coaches still have faith in me, they still want to get me the ball whenever I’m in the game, it feels good.”

The Jets need Hall and his fellow back Michael Carter to both have strong games Sunday against the Browns. Cleveland’s pass rush, led by Myles Garrett, could make it a long day for the offense. But if the Jets can run the ball effectively, they could slow down the rush.

“We’re going to have to stay ahead of the sticks,” Hall said. “We’re going to have to slow those guys down, get chips on those guys, try to confuse those guys in any type of way. That’s going to be big for us this week. It’s going to be big for me and [Carter] to run the ball.”

Head coach Robert Saleh said last week was a learning experience for Hall and all the rookies.

“They’re not trying to make a mistake, they’re not trying to fumble, he’s trying to fight for extra yards, he spins out of it, you just got to remind him this league is different than college,” Saleh said. “The players are too fast, they’re too smart, they’re too ball-focused, so a great lesson for him.

“There was even one he was just talking about, he saw a crease and big Calais [Campbell] just grabbed him, and he’s like, that’s never happened to him before. So it just grabbed him, just to stop and he’s like, ‘Jeez,’ but for him, it’s just all of these guys, just that lesson. He didn’t realize how strong these guys are, so there’s just a different mindset when you’re trying to hit those creases, where in college he probably would’ve been gone.”

Hall said his coaches’ belief in him has kept him confident.

“I feel like they want to make me and [Carter] the identity of our offense,” Hall said. “Just knowing that they have that faith in me feels nice. I’m just focusing on the little things, squeezing the ball, protecting the ball, catching the ball and just let my natural ability take over. I’m not too worried about anything. I know I’m going to progress week by week.”

The Jets elevated OL Grant Hermanns and TE Kenny Yeboah from the practice squad for Sunday’s game.