Jets rookie receiver Devin Smith has torn knee ligament

Rookie wide receiver Devin Smith injured his right knee while covering a punt in the third quarter and wasn’t able to put weight on it before being loaded onto a cart to make the trip back to the locker room at MetLife Stadium. Smith, whom the Jets selected out of Ohio State in the second round of May’s draft, finishes his rookie season with nine catches for 115 yards and one touchdown. Head coach Todd Bowles said Monday that Smith will require surgery and that he’ll likely be placed on injured reserve soon. Days later, however, offensive coordinator Chan Gailey expressed faith in Smith, saying: “I haven’t lost confidence in him”. “It’s a tough break for him”. He will miss the rest of the season. In the mean time the Jets (8-5) will have to press on without him next week against a 4-9 Cowboys team looking to serve as playoff spoilers.

Although written off as a bust by some, Smith seemed to be turning the corner in recent weeks.

“It’s unfortunate that this happened because he was coming around and really going to help us”.

“We’re just treating it and we’ll see how he is toward the end of the week”, Bowles said. He earned the praise from coaches and teammates, and talk began of what a three-headed attack at receiver could like with Smith being added to a group that already included Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. Still, Bowles chose to stick to the positives when talking about Smith on Monday.