Dee Milliner was aiming for a bounce-back season. After struggling as a rookie and suffering injuries in his second season, Milliner was hoping this was the year he shook off the bust label and proved people his talents are the real deal. However, the New York Jets cornerback cannot seem to catch a break as a wrist injury will leave him off the field and potentially off the team.
The Jets announced Friday via the New York Post, the milliner suffered a wrist injury in practice and is expected to miss six to eight weeks following surgery to repair a torn tendon. This is the latest in a long list of issues for Milliner with the Jets. He had an ankle issue that caused him to miss three games his rookie season. He suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of training camp last year and his 2014 season ended early with a ruptured Achilles tendon. This all came after he did not miss a game his entire career at Alabama.
Milliner was on thin ice entering the season. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, he was at risk of being a roster cut after the Jets added Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie who are both expected to start Week 1. Milliner told the media that he was ready to step up and prove a lot of people wrong in his third year with the team. Defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers supported the progress Milliner had made.
"When you look at Dee coming in, you see a guy still kind of working off of an injury, trying to get himself to 100 percent," Rodgers said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. "But as we looked at him, we expect Dee to compete for a position on the roster like everyone else. This was a top-10 pick, and we think he has a lot of ability and we expect him to compete."
Outside of Revis and Cromartie, the Jets like what they have in Buster Skrine who looked strong in offseason workouts. The chances Milliner is released this season seem slim since he does stand a chance at coming back at some point this year. Giving up on him now would be admitting failure in the draft. However, with a new coaching staff in place anything is possible for returning players.
