FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - The New York Jets might not know until kickoff if they’ll have Brandon Marshall on the field against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The star wide receiver is listed as questionable for Sunday and coach Todd Bowles said Marshall will likely be a game-time decision as he continues to recover from knee and foot injuries.
“I’m going to do everything I can to be out there,” Marshall said Friday. “It will be coach’s decision. He has to make that decision because if it were up to me, I would be out there at 40, 50 percent.”
Marshall returned to practice on a limited basis after sitting out earlier in the week. He had his left knee bend awkwardly beneath him during a play at Buffalo last Thursday night, Marshall’s left foot was also hurt on the play.
The Jets will reassess Marshall’s knee and foot on Saturday, and it could come down to how he feels Sunday before kickoff.
“I’ve got to be able to show coach I can be an asset and not a liability out there. As far as today, obviously, I’m not where I want to be. But the good thing is, there’s still time. But I’ve also just got to be smart. It’s a long season and although it’s tough thinking about not playing, it could be a possibility. I’m still hopeful. We have a couple of hours left, get a lot of treatment and rest, and you just never know what the human body does, so we’ll see.”
Marshall, in his 11th NFL season, has been mostly durable throughout his career. He has missed five games in his last six-plus seasons: three in his last year with Chicago in 2014 with a rib injury, and two with Miami in 2010 with a hamstring injury.
“I always try to get out there,” he said.
But he did express some caution about his availability for Sunday because of the nature - which he wouldn’t detail, other than to say it’s a “knee and foot” - of this particular injury.
“Think about it, it’s a knee,” Marshall said. “You saw the picture . It’s a knee, so there’s definitely something going on there. It’s a knee. There’s a lot of guys who are out this year because of knees. There’s a lot of guys who ended their careers over knees. We have a really good team. I’m confident in our receiving corps.”
If Marshall can’t play, it would likely mean even more opportunities for Quincy Enunwa , who leads the Jets with 13 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown. Rookies Jalin Marshall , Robby Anderson and Charone Peake could also see increased snaps.
Despite being injured against the Bills, Brandon Marshall was surprisingly able to return to the game and finished with six catches for 101 yards.
That made it appear Marshall would be fine to play 10 days later, but he attributed his quick comeback to adrenaline and having taken an anti-inflammatory pill before the game for a pre-existing injury.
“That helped a lot,” he said. “The problem with injuries is, after a few hours and the next day or two, there’s a lot of blood flow to that area, so swelling increases. Usually what you’re fighting is getting the inflammation out, getting the swelling out and getting the flexibility back, whether that’s an ankle, a knee, an elbow. That’s usually the common theme for injuries.
“That’s the deal: swelling, flexibility and trying to get back to close to 100 percent.”
In other injuries, Eric Decker was a full participant at practice after sitting out Wednesday and being limited Thursday with a sore shoulder.
Left guard James Carpenter was also a full-go after a sore calf kept him out the first two full days of practice.
Linebacker David Harris (shoulder) was limited, while Erin Henderson (foot) did not practice - although both are listed as questionable.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Please read our comment policy before commenting.