So far, Eric Decker has lived up to his free agency contract with the New York Jets. The wide receiver came to the Big Apple after a career-high year with the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning. However, some questioned just how successful the wide receiver would be considering Geno Smith would be throwing him the ball and not Manning. Decker has been a guarantee for the Jets, but a hamstring injury could keep him out of Week 3 play.
Through two games, Decker leads the wide receiver group for the Jets with 137 yards on nine catches and one touchdown. He is the standout talent among a rather unimpressive roster group. Losing Decker could stall out the offense even if for one game, but all signs point towards the receiver sitting out Monday's game. Decker has been dealing with a hamstring injury for the better part of a month and the pain is finally catching up to him. Decker admitted that the next two practices would determine his status for the coming game.
"My mentality is to take it one day at a time. I would love to play [Monday], so am just making sure that we take the right steps. Don't do too much, but do enough to feel it out and make a decision once that day rolls around," Decker said, via NJ.com. "I just have to do a better job of listening to my body. With hamstrings, [I] have to make sure my glutes are good, my quads are good, everything around the hamstring muscle is good to go. That's on me as far as listening to my body and doing the correct things. Unfortunately, this stuff happens, but there are things now that I can do to make sure that I don't allow it to happen again."
According to Decker, he did not tear his hamstring, but simply aggravated an old injury that is limiting his availability in practice. Losing Decker would mean that the Jets will be forced to rely on Jeremy Kerley and David Nelson as the team's top two receivers which may or may not work out. Nelson has two catches on the year while Kerley has eight. Neither receiver is overly impressive and with Decker not there to attract attention from the defense, everyone could struggle.
