Running back Breece Hall did not practice Monday as “part of his maintenance program” in his return from 2022 knee surgery, according to Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
Hall and recently signed Dalvin Cook are both expected to be available for the season opener Monday night against the Bills, but Saleh wouldn’t say how much they’d play.
“I don’t know if I want to call it a snap count, but we’re gonna be smart with them,” Saleh said Monday during a Zoom press conference. “We’ll continue to evaluate and build up what we think Monday needs to be, but it’s not that we’re putting a snap count on it.
“It’s just that they are two really good football players. [Running back] Michael Carter is a really good football player and we’re just trying to find a way to feature all of them, along with the receivers and tight ends that we have. There’s gonna be enough to go around.”
Hall’s rookie season got off to a strong start last season, with 463 rushing yards and five touchdowns (one receiving) in seven games before he suffered a torn ACL against the Broncos on Oct. 23. He was activated from the physically unable to perform list on Aug. 15
Cook, a four-time Pro Bowler with the Vikings, officially signed his free-agent contract (one year, $7 million) with the Jets the following day, but neither running back appeared in any preseason games.
The Jets elected three captains — quarterback Aaron Rodgers (offense), linebacker C.J. Mosley (defense) and cornerback Justin Hardee (special teams), with the coaching staff expected to name a fourth “game captain” each week.
“It means a lot, especially coming from my teammates,” said Mosley, who has been a captain in all four seasons with the Jets, excluding when he opted out of the 2020 COVID-affected campaign. “I don’t take the ‘C’ on my chest lightly. Every year I come here, I make sure I work to earn that stripe.
“I make sure I put in the right work ethic. I want to lead and lead by example the right way and make sure I’m doing the right things by everyone. Any time I get that recognition, I definitely don’t take it for granted.”
Hardee is the special teams captain for a third straight year.
Defensive end Will McDonald returned to practice after having wisdom teeth pulled Thursday, Saleh said.
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