Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow looks ready for a homecoming this Sunday as he will likely travel to his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla. A rib injury suffered in the Jets’ 28-7 loss at Seattle on Nov. 11 may have shelved him for this past Sunday’s game but he appears to be making progress.
“I don’t see why [he wouldn not travel],” head coach Rex Ryan said. “I would say yes, he would travel.”
Ryan however stopped short of saying Tebow would be active or play, even as he did more in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
“He did practice more,” Ryan said. “Again, I’m still not ready to say that I’m comfortable with [his ribs] right now. We’ll see how he does today, but he did work quite a bit with the scout team — more than he did before.”
Hill limited, Keller misses practice
Coming off one of his best performances of the season, Jets rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill missed practice on Wednesday with a knee injury and was limited in his return to the field on Thursday.
By all indications, the injury was nothing serious and will not cause him to miss the game against the Jaguars. It hasn’t been the easiest season for the rookie who earlier this season missed games due to a hamstring injury and last month he was held out of practice for several days with the flu.
“He played [on Sunday] so I don’t think it was that big but [we] held him out yesterday but he’s doing really well,” head coach Rex Ryan said. “Did a good job in rehabbing so today he’s limited so hopefully we’ll think he’ll play.”
Hill tied a career high with five catches in Sunday’s 7-6 win over the Cardinals. But as good of a showing as that was, the lanky wide receiver still hasn’t developed into the red zone target the Jets had hoped for. Hill doesn’t have a touchdown since Oct. 14.
Tight end Dustin Keller missed practice on Thursday for the second straight day but head coach Rex Ryan said he is getting “substantially better.”
Ellis getting better
After more than a month off, nose tackle Kenrick Ellis quietly returned to the field in the Jets’ win at the Rams three weeks ago, a game where he registered a tackle. Ellis was out with a sprained MCL/PCL, but is now beginning to return to health and he was able to practice in full on Thursday.
“My knee is feeling a lot better as the weeks go on,” Ellis said. “I’m doing full practice, getting a lot of reps. Scout team, wherever they want me, any way I can contribute to the program, contribute to us to winning games.”
The biggest transition right now for Ellis is continuing to get back his full range of motion, in particular lateral movement. That can be a challenge for a massive 6-foot-4, 346-pound nose tackle.
“There’s more weight on the joint and we’re fighting against more weight, 300-pounders,” Ellis said. “That can be a difficult thing coming off a knee injury like that.”
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