New Jets wide receiver Terrelle Pryor spent Friday’s initial training camp practice mainly as a spectator. Pryor is coming off ankle surgery this spring after missing much of last season with the Redskins due to another ankle injury.
On Friday, Pryor participated in individual drills, but watched team drills.
“We have a solid plan,” Pryor said. “It’s good. I trust [trainer] John [Mellody]. I had a long talk with coach [Todd Bowles], too. I’m a little excited. I wanted to get out there to practice. This is the first time I felt good like this in a year, since back in Cleveland. I was pretty banged up in Washington last year early on. It’s the first time I actually feel pretty good about myself, about cutting without thinking. I’m going to keep following their plan and hopefully when I get back I can go full speed.”
Pryor said he has been told he will sit out at least the first four practices and then the team will reassess his condition.
The Jets will hold joint practices with the Redskins on Aug. 12-14 in Richmond, Va., practices Pryor said he hopes he can participate in. He spent one disappointing season in Washington. Recently, his former teammate Zach Brown said the Redskins “will have it out” for Pryor in those practices.
“That’s fun stuff,” Pryor said. “It’s football. I love Zach. I look forward to going out there and playing against those guys. All year being with them I was hurt. I’ll be healthy this time. I look forward to that. It’s all fun.”
Bowles spent seven seasons coaching with Tony Sparano with the Cowboys and Dolphins. Bowles took the news hard when Sparano died on Sunday at the age of 56 of natural causes brought on by arteriosclerotic heart disease. Bowles tried to fly to Minnesota on Thursday to attend services for Sparano, but flight problems prevented him.
“My heart goes out to [his family],” Bowles said. “Words can’t describe what happened. That one will stick with me forever. He was a very good friend, a very good friend. It was a tough pill to swallow.”
WR ArDarius Stewart was officially suspended for two games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. He is the second Jet to get suspended this week, joining cornerback Rashard Robinson.
“It’s extremely disappointing for me,” Bowles said. “To happen at the same time, although isolated incidents, you deal with them as a team and as a coach and you move on. At the same time, you don’t want that type of things happening on your team. We don’t like that environment when you’re in the news for the wrong reasons. We’ve got other guys that have a chance to play and prove themselves.You let the chips fall where they may.”
Stewart did make a beautiful grab to end practice. He caught a 40-yard pass along the sideline, making a nice adjustment on the throw from Teddy Bridgewater.
Bowles looks a lot slimmer than last year. He has been dieting and exercising and looks like he might be down as much as 50 pounds.
There were a lot of penalties. Sure, it’s the first day, but this was a major problem last season. The Jets were really sloppy Friday. Coach Todd Bowles has the offending unit doing push-ups after committing a penalty. It looks like the Jets will be in good shape, if nothing else.
Safety Doug Middleton is getting first-team reps as Marcus Maye recovers from ankle surgery. Middleton was having a strong camp last year before suffering an injury. He was flying around Friday and made some plays.
Score Round 1 for Josh McCown. The 39-year-old veteran was crisp and made some really nice throws. Bridgewater had an uneven day. He missed some open receivers, but ended the day on a strong note with the 40-yard pass to Stewart. The two made a lot of throws, with Sam Darnold not being present.
RB Elijah McGuire left practice with what appeared to be an ankle or foot injury. Bowles had no update after practice. … DL Courtney Upshaw was placed on the non-injury football list. It sounds like he failed the conditioning test.
