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It looked like just your basic tete-a-tete
between an offensive lineman and defensive lineman, firing off the ball and taking each other on.
And it ended with second-year guard Cameron Clark being strapped to a board and taken to Morristown Hospital in an ambulance.
It turns out he had a spinal cord contusion and should make a full recovery.
But after it happened a pall was cast over the Jets practice field in Florham Park.
Robert Saleh cancelled the rest of practice.
Players prayed together. Wide receiver Corey Davis gathered his teammates around and addressed them. Conor McDermott stood next to his fallen teammate for quite some time as he was being attended to.
After Clark was put in the ambulance to head to Morristown Hospital, consistently voted the best in New Jersey, Joe Douglas, Saleh huddled with Dr. Elliot Hershman, a long-time Jets physician, to get filled in on what was going on with Clark.
What a great guy to have a practice today. Hershman isn’t always there, and the Jets have other good doctors, but let’s not forget, Hershman was with the Jets when Dennis Byrd suffered a severe spinal cord injury.
Bryd never fully recovered, but thanks to the work on the field, and what followed, he was able to walk again. The way the Jets handled Byrd, helped with cases moving forward.
When people on the scene, the fans there, reporters and teammates, saw Clark motionless and being strapped to a stretcher, many probably thought the worse.
But remember, this is how most cases like this are handled, especially on the NFL and college level. They error on the side of caution. They immobilize the patient, and take them to a hospital, with as little motion as possible, to avoid making things worse.
This worked out as good as possible, and he should able to return to football.
You know what is interesting, and only bring this up because he’s going to be okay – Clark got into a fight yesterday with defensive tackle, and then almost came to blows today with another defensive tackle, who shoved him after the play (which Clark had a nice block on the player). He’s really getting after defensive linemen in camp. Very spirited . . .
The Jets had another offensive line injury today, Chuma Edoga hurt his knee today. But I don’t think he hurt it today. He hurt his knee in a spring practice, and has been practicing with medical sleeve on his right knee. He missed several practices in the spring. So this probably isn’t new injury . . .
Rookie linebacker Jamien Sherwood, a college safety, is a very smart player. Saw him moving players around helping them line up correctly on one play. He’s been a quick study . . .
John Franklin-Myers played more on the inside today, and that is probably a better place for him than at end . . .
Bootlegs will be a big part of the Jets’ new offense that is why estabilishing the run is so important . . .
CB Isaiah Dunn looks like he will be a very good gunner on special teams . . .
DE Kyle Phillips, coming a broken ankle, looked very good running drills around practice dummies – changed direction nicely . . .
LaMarcus Joyner isn’t he biggest safety, but you could see today, he is unflinching against the run . . .
Wide receiver Manasseh Bailey continues to impress. He’s very fast with great hands . . .
Carrying over from the spring, Zach Wilson continues to connect with WR Braxton Berrios quite a bit. Berrios with his great short-area quickness, creates big windows to pass into fast, cutting away from defensive backs very quickly, and Wilson seems to like his style . . .
August 3, 2021
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