The New York Jets’ mounting struggles have finally given way to a sliver of hope. The Jets were eyeing Week 8 without two of their most dominant players on either side of the ball. With wide receiver Garrett Wilson still on the mend, head coach Aaron Glenn has made a move to shore up the offense.

As Justin Fried reports on X, “The Jets are signing WR Brandon Smith to their 53-man roster, per source. Smith has impressed with the Jets over the last two summers. Now, finally gets a shot on the active roster. Big opportunity with Garrett Wilson sidelined another week.”

Garrett Wilson went down with a knee injury in Week 6 against the Denver Broncos. Since then, he has missed practices while rehabbing, subsequently missing out on the Week 7 match. Before getting sidelined, Wilson had hauled in 36 catches for 395 yards, with 4 touchdowns to show for it. But with him out a few weeks further beyond Week 8, Aaron Glenn needed to pivot, fast. And Brandon Smith’s elevation to the active roster from the practice squad does have its upsides.

After journeying across the NFL rosters since 2021, Smith landed with the New York Jets just ahead of the 2024 preseason. In his preseason outing, he had five catches for 120 yards across three games. He also saw a single snap in Week 15 of the regular season. This year felt like a similar story for him. With Garrett Wilson out, Smith took the field in Week 6 against the Broncos. While he didn’t have any numbers to show for it, he now has the chance to make a proper NFL splash against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8.

But filling Garrett Wilson’s spot is just one part of the problem Coach Glenn faces. As he searches for his first win as a head coach, mounting injuries have further complicated the matter for him.

Aaron Glenn’s latest injury troubles

With running back Braelon Allen’s placement on the injury reserve post Week 4, fellow running back Breece Hall and quarterback Justin Fields were supposed to shoulder the Jets’ rushing attempts. But now Hall has been listed as questionable for Week 8 with a knee injury. Running back Kene Nwangwu is on the concussion protocol and will be out. To add further woes, wide receiver Josh Reynolds was missing from Friday’s (Oct. 24) practice and marked as questionable with a hip injury. But there’s even more…

Defensive tackle Jay Tufele (knee), linebacker Cam Jones (hip), cornerback Sauce Gardner (concussion) and tight end Stone Smartt are all designated ‘Out’ for the match against the Bengals. Tight end Mason Taylor is also questionable with a quad injury.

When Justin Fields failed to gain any momentum in Week 7, Aaron Glenn had benched Fields and let backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor take the lead. While Tyrod didn’t manage to drive home any scores, the offense did look a bit better with him leading the fray. Now, even Taylor is listed as questionable after being a limited participant in Friday’s practice. Coach Glenn did note that Tyrod is trending in the right direction recently, but refused to share who will start vs. Cincinnati. 

With so many roster pieces battered and bruised, the hunt for regular season relevance has only gotten harder for Aaron Glenn & Co. With calls mounting against the head coach, will they continue to stay at the bottom of the AFC East? Or will Week 8 finally show some light, despite the injury setbacks?