Jets’ Kenyon Sadiq Out a Couple More Weeks, But Aaron Glenn Sees No Threat to Season Opener

The New York Jets have gotten their most encouraging update yet on Kenyon Sadiq. It’s still not the news anyone wanted heading into camp, but it beats the alternative.

Head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters Thursday that the rookie tight end’s recovery is trending in the right direction after a rough week. “We actually got pretty good news the other day,” Glenn said, according to NBC Sports. “I’m just crossing my fingers, I’m going to say it’s a couple weeks still, but it’s not anything that’s going to keep him out of the regular season.”

That’s the headline for Jets fans nervously tracking their first-round pick’s health: whatever’s going on, it isn’t expected to bleed into Week 1.

What Happened to Kenyon Sadiq

Sadiq, the 16th overall pick out of Oregon in April, has been dealing with the fallout from sports hernia surgery he underwent in May. He returned for the start of training camp on July 28 and looked sharp through his first three practices, including a red-zone grab from Geno Smith. Then came a scheduled rest day on Monday, August 3 — followed by an unscheduled absence on Tuesday.

Glenn addressed it that Tuesday, telling reporters Sadiq had “a little setback” tied directly to the hernia procedure. “When he had the surgery — I mean, most guys, they usually get both [sides] done. That’s how many doctors do it,” Glenn explained, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “So I’m not real worried, but I think I want to make sure that I make the right decision and make sure I take care of him so he can be ready for the season.”

A sports orthopedic specialist not affiliated with the team offered some context on why setbacks like this happen. Dr. Daniel Kaplan of NYU Langone Health told Jets OnSI that the issue likely traces back to inflammation buildup, a common occurrence post-surgery, and that the Jets’ cautious approach was the right call, not an overreaction.

The Two-Week Runway

By Thursday, the tone had shifted. Glenn’s “pretty good news” framing, first relayed by The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt on X, put a rough timeline on the absence — roughly two weeks — while ruling out any threat to Sadiq’s regular-season availability. The Jets open the season against the Tennessee Titans, giving Sadiq a real but manageable runway to get back up to speed with Smith and new offensive coordinator Frank Reich’s scheme.

It’s worth noting the Jets knew about the injury before they drafted him. Sadiq played through it during his final season at Oregon, and the team was aware surgery would be needed. The procedure didn’t happen until roughly a month after the draft, following his participation in rookie minicamp — a sequence that’s now cost him OTAs, mandatory minicamp, and a chunk of training camp.

Why It Matters for the Offense

Sadiq was one of three first-round picks the Jets made in April, and the team views him as a difference-maker in the passing game. At Oregon, he put up 560 yards and eight touchdowns in his junior season, the kind of red-zone production that made him a coveted target. Pair that with Garrett Wilson on the outside and fellow rookie Omar Cooper Jr., and Geno Smith has no shortage of weapons — if Sadiq can stay healthy enough to use them.

The lost time still matters. Even with the season-opener assurance, a rookie missing OTAs, minicamp, and multiple weeks of camp is behind on timing with his quarterback and unfamiliar reps in Reich’s new system. That’s not something a “couple weeks” fully erases once the games start counting.

There’s a built-in cushion, though: 2025 second-round pick Mason Taylor, who had a strong rookie season and gives the Jets a proven option at tight end while Sadiq ramps back up. The two project as complementary pieces long-term — Sadiq the athletic mismatch threat, Taylor the more physical in-line presence — assuming health cooperates.