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Jets coach Aaron Glenn announced today that tight end Kenyon Sadiq had a “setback” in his comeback from May sports hernia surgery.
“He had a little setback as we watched his exams, so he’ll be out a little bit,” Glenn said. “I can’t tell you exactly how long right now, but I will let you know that at some point. But just expect him to be out for a little bit. But he’s working his way back.”
This is a big story.
At least it would have been back in the day.
The first question of the press conference wasn’t even about Sadiq. It was about CB Brandon Stephens making some nice plays in practice.
Rich Cimini, a veteran journalist, then asked, “For Sadiq, is it related to his previous hernia injury?
“Yes it is,” Glenn said. “When he got the surgery, I mean most guys, they usually get both of them done, that’s how most doctors do it. Listen, I’m not real worried, but the thing is I want to make sure that I make the right decision on making sure I take care of him so he can be ready for the regular season.
Cimini asked a quick follow-up: “Speaking of which, what’s your confidence level that he will be ready for Week One?
“Very confident,” Glenn said.
And that was it – no more questions.
There are so many more things that need to be asked on this one from a “Capital J” journalism standpoint.
“Why didn’t he have surgery on both groins?”
“Will he need another surgery – perhaps a scope to clean up the setback?”
“Was it risky to pick a player with the 16th pick of the first round with a sports hernia?
Back in the day, these would have been considered good questions, but these days, they are almost considered obnoxious.
Let me make something clear – I’m not questioning the Jets doctors or trainers. They have some very qualified people in those positions. They did what they thought was best here. They make a lot more good decisions than bad ones.
But if you are going to be a “Capital J” journalist, when a story like this breaks, you gotta channel Gary Myers a little bit.
When Bill Parcells coached the Jets, he once called Myers a “parrot” because he asked him questions about the same topic, whatever it might have been, multiple times in a given press conference – over and over.
This was one of those days?
Another question an old-school scribe might have asked: “In retrospect, do you think perhaps you guys rushed Sadiq back, having him on the practice field at the beginning of camp?”
After all, Sadiq had sports hernia surgery in late May. One report said it was May 28.
So he was back on the field after eight weeks.
What you often hear in the sports medicine community is that players generally come back after 8 to 12 weeks following sports hernia surgery, so Sadiq came back at the front end of that timeline.
Some might have put him on the PUP list to start camp. Look, if there was a playoff game or Super Bowl after eight weeks, maybe you push the envelope, but some might argue, not for his rookie camp.
Look, hindsight is 20-20, and the Jets have well-trained medical people making these decisions (this isn’t on Aaron Glenn), but these are just “Capital J” journalism questions, and nobody should be offended if you ask them.
But something has changed in recent years.
Former Star-Ledger Jets beat-writer Dave Hutchinson used to say when people would get agitated at him for being persistent with questioning, “I’m just doing my job, just trying to feed my family.”
Look, I deserve some blame here as well. Why didn’t I step up and ask some questions about Sadiq today?
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio was highly critical of the lack of follow-up questions on the Jets beat a couple of years ago, and said one of the issues is, “In any competitive beat, no one wants to be known as ‘the a-hole.'”
Maybe that is part of me pulling back a little bit. I apologize for that.
I ask plenty of tough questions over the course of the year, but I’m getting less and less into being that guy, especially with less and less support from others in the room willing to do it.
But the bottom line is this Sadiq story is a big one, and this wasn’t the day for myriad questions on the strong relationship between Armand Membou and Olu Fashanu.
But the media landscape has changed quite a bit in recent years.
And so has the once tough New York market.
August 4, 2026
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