The New York Jets' secondary took a big hit over the weekend when top cornerback Dee Milliner and rookie Dexter McDougle, a third-round pick not too far down the depth chart, left practice Sunday with injuries.
With a torn ACL, McDougle is reportedly done for the season. Milliner, meanwhile, is now all of a sudden a Week 1 question mark due to a high ankle sprain.
So Monday, Jets coach Rex Ryan was pressed regarding the depth of his CB squad. His response? No big deal.
"My defenses work, period," Ryan said, via NewYorkJets.com. "We take what we have and then we work around it. It's always players over system. I've been around enough that it'll work out.
"It's not a panic situation, it's an opportunity. Sometimes guys'll step up. It might not be somebody we've even talked about yet."
For Antonio Allen, it was an opportunity to move from centerfield to the outside, as the third-year safety took reps at cornerback and hauled in a couple interceptions working opposite special-teamer Ellis Lankster. Dimitri Patterson, the projected starter opposite Milliner, sat out his third-straight practice.
That little experiment aside, former first-rounder Kyle Wilson is probably the next fall-back option to start opposite newcoming veteran Dimitri Patterson until Milliner is back, though it seems Ryan prefers to keep him in the slot. Darrin Walls, Ras-I Dowling and Johnny Patrick are in the mix, as well.
For Antonio Allen, it was an opportunity to move from centerfield to the outside, as the third-year safety took reps at cornerback and hauled in a couple interceptions working opposite special-teamer Ellis Lankster. Dimitri Patterson, the projected starter opposite Milliner, sat out his third-straight practice.
That little experiment aside, former first-rounder Kyle Wilson is probably the next fall-back option to start opposite newcoming veteran Dimitri Patterson until Milliner is back, though it seems Ryan prefers to keep him in the slot. Darrin Walls, Ras-I Dowling and Johnny Patrick are in the mix, as well.
