The Jets expect to be a much-improved team in 2022 from the 4-13 team they were last season. If nothing else, they certainly will look a lot different when training camp opens on July 26.
A lot can happen in the six weeks after that, and it will set the tone for this important season. So here’s a look at the five biggest summer storylines for the Jets…
In hindsight, all the promise of Robert Saleh’s first season was carted off the practice field in Green Bay last Aug. 19, along with their best pass-rusher and prized free agent. Carl Lawson was a dominant player on the practice fields all summer, after signing a three-year, $45 million contract. It looked like he was going to revolutionize their defense.
Then he tore his Achilles at a joint practice, and just like that all hope was lost.
That hope is back, though, along with Lawson who is still working his way back from his Achilles injury but seems on track to be able to practice at some point during training camp. And he’s “eager” and “excited” to return to a defense that has been restocked with talent and seems greatly improved.
Lawson is betting that he is, too.
“I plan on being better than what I was,” he said.
What he was, last summer, was an unstoppable force in practice. He was a fixture in the face of the Jets’ quarterbacks and a handful for their offensive line. He was fast and aggressive and seemed to be setting the tone for the kind of front that the defensive-minded Saleh wanted to lead his defense.
And the Jets expect that’s what he’ll be this year, too.
“Carl's a monster,” said new Jets tight end C.J. Uzomah, who played with Lawson for four years with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2017-2020. “He's built like an action figure. Like if you go on Madden and you try to build a player, that is Carl. He's just a freak. His get-off is unbelievable. His strength, in my opinion, that's his biggest strength. He's a monster.
"To get him back out on the field, our defensive line is going to be really freaking good.”
The 27-year-old Lawson could really be that kind of difference-maker – if the Jets are getting vintage Lawson. In his final year in Cincinnati, he had just 5.5 sacks but he was credited with 64 quarterback pressures and 24 quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Focus. His sack numbers kept him under the radar, but he was one of the most disruptive pass-rushers in the game.
The Jets were obviously missing that last season when their pass rush was non-existent and their defense was the worst in the NFL. But can Lawson be even close to the same player he was a year after tearing his Achilles?
"Carl, he's still working through, but he looks fantastic," Saleh said in May. "He's ready to roll. I think he was ready to roll the second he tore it. I mean, the guy is an animal with rehab.”
The Jets need that rehab to pay off big for Lawson and their defense this season. They have six weeks of the summer to find out if it did.
