I think the arbiter of whether he's lost enough weight to be able to trust his knee should be to ask him to put his Pro Bowl jersey on. If it fits then he's good to go.
I'd give Jenkins a lot of props for coming back once again from such a devastating season-ending injury. As long as he's on the field, I'll wish him well. However, Jenkins really needs to start thinking about life after football. Hopefully, he'll get many outside medical opinions on the long-term effects of these injuries.
have you guys seen his injuries? you guys act like hes made out of paper bags. hes had horrible luck. both times for us he got tangled up and rolled on. if he and the Jets feel he can contribute I'm all for it. Comeback player of the year anyone? but if not and if he retires (probably the more likely scenario.) I wish him the best. one of my favorite players and one of my favorite Jets all time instantly cause of his style of play and leadership. loved him in CAR and was extatic when we got him.
If Jenkins is able to motivate himself through yet another year of rehab and disappointment then he's a warrior and deserves another shot. At this stage of his career he's not going to go to a new team to start fresh... he's either going to be with the Jets or retire. The Jets shouldn't treat him as their cornerstone guy anymore but should definitely look at him as a luxury guy who can potentially return and add yet another dimension to the defense.
If he can still play after his eleventy-fifth knee surgery, then play him a little less, pay him a little less and let him go for it.
I'd love it if Big Jenks wants to give it another shot. He's earned it and he's the fuckin man. However, if he does decide to give it a go he has to do a strahan and reinvent himself a little. Strahan rejuvenated his career by dropping about 10-15% of his weight. Jenks is going to have to go that route. You can do it, man! See you at OTA's.
Though he hasn't done much for us in the way of playing, he's without question one of the leaders of the team. Players respect him, and so do the coaches. Those who have seen him in Training Camp know this to be true, as he has a commanding presence. Let him go through training camp, and see how he does. You gotta hand it to the guy for not hanging it up.
Really have to respect Jenks determination and competitive drive to want to play. I also credit it to being in the locker room he's in. To come back from one ACL is amazing and he must have worked incredibly well through the rehab to be where he was at in OTA, TC and going into the season. Some part of his motivation may be a way to deal with the sense of loss that he unfortunately experienced before and what came with that. Happily he came through. and seemed to have his sense of self and fun intact. It would be great to see him around the Jets in some capacity before moving onto coaching and a presenting/analyst/colour commentary guy. He would be awesome at that and I'd lobe to see him tell Michael Irving he's talking shit. Take it stage by stage and evaluate as you go on
Can't see Jenkins playing again unless he gets himself down closer to 320lbs again. He had to lose 30 pounds to get to his camp weight of around 330 this year and that was a massive challenge.
It would be foolhardy for the Jets to rely on him to come back in proper football shape. But keeping him on IR (with drastic salary adjustment) with the possibility of rejoining the team in Nov/Dec is enticing. He is an absolutely dominant force when his knees don't fail.
Whether he makes it back to play or not, the Jets will never rely on him. They'll have a plan in place that doesn't include him. Any contribution he gives will be icing on the cake. I'm just happy that we haven't missed a beat without him. Well, maybe we'd have a little better penetration with him there, but we're still winning.
When you are that big and play in the trenches, if you can't handle the bodies rolling around you can't play.
Just to repeat, Jenkins was on SNY live and said no such thing. Jenkins said he would like to, but it is really up to his body, his body will make the final decision. So if his knee is not NFL ready he is not coming back.
Whether he plays again or not, I'm sure we will see him still involved in football in some capacity. TV, media, etc....
Kris Jenkins will be great for the NFL, whether it is on or off the field next season (and the seasons to follow).
