Jets To Place WR Omar Cooper On IR

Cooper, 22, started his NFL career with a 30-yard reception on New York’s opening drive that converted a third-and-nine and set up the team’s first touchdown. However, the former Indiana Hoosier left the game after that drive and did not return, nor did he practice at all this week. His mandatory four-game absence will give him plenty of time to get back up to 100% before re-taking the field.

Losing Cooper was probably the most disappointing part of the Jets’ otherwise encouraging Week 1 win over the Titans. New York’s young offensive line kept veteran quarterback Geno Smith clean for much of the game, allowing him to complete 19 of his 24 passes for 215 yards. Wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell accounted for nine catches and 130 yards with rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq chipping in 21 yards on three catches plus a three-yard rushing touchdown. That trio, along with bell-cow running back Breece Hall, will continue to be the team’s offensive focal points moving forward.

Cooper’s five-snap sample size is too small to identify his intended role in the Jets offense. But after he went down, offensive coordinator Frank Reich kept Wilson and Mitchell on the outside and deployed Isaiah Williams in the slot. He also leaned on more two tight end sets with Sadiq and Mason Taylor, the latter of whom also saw time in the slot.

Reich seems inclined to stick with that plan, at least for one week. The Jets did not elevate any wide receivers off their practice squad for their Week 2 matchup against the Packers, though they could sign one to their active roster after officially placing Cooper on IR. That move was not the team’s initial expectation this week, so they might also have bigger changes in mind for next week.