Even before the start of training camp, players do get hurt. The Jets had one of the better defenses a year ago, and thought they'd be even better after acquiring safety Chuck Clark from the Ravens in March. But that won't be the case.
Clark, who the team was planning on pairing with Jordan Whitehead as a safety tandem, tore his ACL earlier this month. On the bright side, since he hadn't actually played for the team, it's not actually a loss from last season's 4th-ranked (both points and yards allowed) defense, that was also 2nd against the pass.
Theoretically the team could have brought back Lamarcus Joyner, who started 14 games a year ago. But Joyner is 32 and the Clark acquisition was to avoid bringing him back. And it seems like they were able to find a better Plan B anyway.
The Jets have signed Adrian Amos, who started every game for the Packers the last four seasons. Green Bay let him walk in free agency, but that looks like a major break for New York. At least statistically, he's pretty similar to Clark.
Over the last four years, both veterans have averaged about 5.5 tackles per game. Among defensive backs to appear in at least 40 games across those seasons, only 36 have averaged at least 5 tackles. Clark, Amos and New York's other starter, Whitehead, are all among that group. (Data from pro-football-reference.com was used in building this table.)
| DB TACKLES PER GAME, 2019-2022 (40-PLUS GAMES) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | G | Sk | Solo | Ast | Tckl | Tckl/G |
| Budda Baker | FS | 63 | 4.5 | 332 | 142 | 474 | 7.5 |
| Tracy Walker | FS | 46 | 3 | 231 | 87 | 318 | 6.9 |
| Jordan Poyer | SS | 60 | 6 | 272 | 115 | 387 | 6.5 |
| Logan Ryan | LCB | 56 | 6.5 | 242 | 119 | 361 | 6.4 |
| Antoine Winfield Jr. | SS | 42 | 9 | 190 | 72 | 262 | 6.2 |
| Harrison Smith | SS | 60 | 4.5 | 268 | 105 | 373 | 6.2 |
| Johnathan Abram | DB | 43 | 0 | 167 | 100 | 267 | 6.2 |
| Landon Collins | SS | 41 | 7 | 160 | 94 | 254 | 6.2 |
| Vonn Bell | SS | 61 | 3 | 249 | 128 | 377 | 6.2 |
| Kamren Curl | SS | 44 | 4 | 183 | 87 | 270 | 6.1 |
| Kevin Byard | FS | 66 | 1 | 265 | 126 | 391 | 5.9 |
| John Johnson | SS | 54 | 1 | 204 | 114 | 318 | 5.9 |
| Jessie Bates III | FS | 63 | 0 | 254 | 114 | 368 | 5.8 |
| Minkah Fitzpatrick | DB | 63 | 0 | 244 | 124 | 368 | 5.8 |
| Taylor Rapp | SS | 57 | 1.5 | 216 | 114 | 330 | 5.8 |
| Jalen Thompson | SS | 54 | 0 | 219 | 88 | 307 | 5.7 |
| Kareem Jackson | SS | 61 | 1 | 232 | 110 | 342 | 5.6 |
| Justin Simmons | FS | 61 | 1.5 | 244 | 94 | 338 | 5.5 |
| Xavier Woods | FS | 62 | 1 | 225 | 118 | 343 | 5.5 |
| Kenny Moore | LCB | 56 | 6.5 | 250 | 58 | 308 | 5.5 |
| L'Jarius Sneed | DB | 41 | 6.5 | 163 | 62 | 225 | 5.5 |
| Adrian Amos | SS | 66 | 4 | 281 | 81 | 362 | 5.5 |
| Marcus Maye | FS | 48 | 3 | 174 | 85 | 259 | 5.4 |
| Chuck Clark | FS | 65 | 3.5 | 212 | 138 | 350 | 5.4 |
| Justin Reid | FS | 58 | 3 | 219 | 91 | 310 | 5.3 |
| Kyle Dugger | DB | 44 | 1 | 163 | 71 | 234 | 5.3 |
| Taron Johnson | DB | 44 | 2 | 176 | 58 | 234 | 5.3 |
| Adrian Phillips | DB | 57 | 1 | 192 | 111 | 303 | 5.3 |
| Rayshawn Jenkins | SS | 62 | 2 | 221 | 106 | 327 | 5.3 |
| Terrell Edmunds | SS | 63 | 4 | 221 | 111 | 332 | 5.3 |
| Malcolm Jenkins | FS | 48 | 6 | 185 | 66 | 251 | 5.2 |
| Jabrill Peppers | SS | 49 | 3.5 | 162 | 94 | 256 | 5.2 |
| Eddie Jackson | FS | 58 | 1 | 227 | 71 | 298 | 5.1 |
| Jordan Whitehead | FS | 61 | 2 | 219 | 86 | 305 | 5.0 |
| Anthony Harris | FS | 47 | 0 | 129 | 107 | 236 | 5.0 |
| Rodney McLeod | SS | 59 | 1 | 180 | 116 | 296 | 5.0 |
As we discussed here recently, New York's defense disappointed in fantasy terms a year ago due to a lack of takeaways. The history of other defenses in the 32-team era suggests they'll be improving in that area, while declining in terms of points allowed.
Regardless, I don't think losing Clark will be a significant negative for New York. They won't necessarily be worse with Amos in the lineup; might even be better. As with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, to a lesser extent of course, Green Bay's loss could be New York's gain.
--Andy Richardson