August 29, 2010 3:56 PM 1 Comment
Adalius Thomas on Jets' radar in wake of Calvin Pace injury »
By Kevin Armstrong
With Jets linebacker Calvin Pace set to miss at least Week 1 of the regular season, coach Rex Ryan reached out to Adalius Thomas, his former outside linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens, this weekend about the possibility of joining the Jets in short order.
"I would say it would be a possibility," Ryan said. "I'm not going to rule that out."
The Daily News first reported that Pace, who suffered a fracture in his right foot Friday in the Jets' loss to the Redskins, is expected to miss about six weeks. He was in New Jersey Sunday, but is scheduled to have surgery on the right foot by Dr. Robert Anderson Monday in Charlotte, N.C. Pace said he has no timetable set for his return.
"Hopefully it will be a somewhat speedy recovery," said Pace, who led the team in sacks last season despite missing the first four games for a league suspension.
Pace's absence poses several questions for the Jets. A secondary sans all Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis has not been as reliable and Pace, the team's best pass rusher, leaves a hole that will need to be filled by off-season acquisition Jason Taylor as well as former linebacker Vernon Gholston. Gholston, a former first round draft selection, had been adapting to a new role as defensive end.
"It puts more pressure on other guys to win their one-on-ones," linebacker Bart Scott said.
Pace added, "That's beauty of playing Rex's defense, Guys step up."
Regarding Thomas, who was released by the Patriots in April, Ryan expressed interest in moving quickly.
"If we're going to do it, we'd rather do it sooner than later," Ryan said. "But there are still some other things involved, other factors involved, and things like that. Sometimes what really makes sense, might not make sense to the organization, so we'll see."
Ryan explained he would not bring in Thomas if he wasn't certain there would be a roster spot available. As of Sunday afternoon, there were not yet plans to bring him in for a physical.
Pace, the team's best pass rusher, injured the foot in the third quarter of the Redskins game. It was on the first-team defense's last series when Washington tackle Stephon Heyer's head crashed into Pace's foot. Heyer was performing a cut block.
"I guess I should have gotten my foot out of the way sooner," Pace said.
