New York Jets outside linebacker Quinton Coples returned to practice on Monday, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post, after nearly a month of rehabbing a fractured ankle suffered in preseason.
Quinton Coples injury: Jets LB returns to practice
Coples has been sidelined for a month with a fractured ankle, but could be ready for Sunday’s game against the Bills.
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Coples, 23, was the team's first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and finished with 5.5 sacks as a rookie. He looked to be off to a good start to 2013 with a sack in the team's preseason opener, but suffered the ankle injury in the following game on Aug. 17.
While it's still too early to determine if he'll play against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, the prospect of adding Coples to a team that allowed the third-fewest points through the first two games is an exciting one for John Butchko of SB Nation's Jets blog, Gang Green Nation:
The prospect of adding Coples is exciting, though. Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Damon Harrison, and Demario Davis are starting to look like pieces of a really promising young front seven. One thing lacking is a pass rusher off the edge. We still are not quite sure whether or how well Coples can fill that role, but he has tremendous physical tools. If Coples can become effective off the edge, defenses will have to provide him extra attention, which would mean more one on ones for Richardson and Wilkerson. That's good.
Through the first two weeks, the Jets have allowed the third-fewest amount of yards and points; however, they rank in the bottom half of the league with just four sacks.
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