The Jets picked up their first win since October in beating the 49ers in overtime but will be finishing the season without the services of one of their starting safeties.
Marcus Gilchrist will miss the rest of the season after tearing his patella tendon, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports (on Twitter). The sixth-year player will undergo surgery, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com.
Gang Green signed Gilchrist to a four-year, $22MM deal — one that was lost amid the spending spree of 2015 but one that gave the team a solid back-line defender. The former Charger has started in all 29 games in which he’s played since joining the Jets last year and rates as the team’s best safety in the opinion of Pro Football Focus, which slots him at No. 51.
Gilchrist made five solo tackles against the 49ers and now has 53 this season to go along with two interceptions. Now set to attempt a recovery from one of the toughest injuries to surmount, the 28-year-old defender is due to make $6MM in base salary in 2017 and see his cap number rise from $4.125MM to $7.375MM as well.
The Jets waived Antonio Allen with an injury settlement Saturday, so their safety corps is now much thinner. They have Rontez Miles and rookie UDFA Doug Middleton residing as the current second-stringers who will likely see more time as the team closes out a lost season.