Jets safety Doug Middleton suffered a torn pectoral in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings and will miss the remainder of the season, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
Middleton himself was already an injury replacement, as he was filling in for starter Marcus Maye after the latter suffered a broken thumb last week. Terrence Brooks took over at free safety against Minnesota after Middleton went down, and he’ll likely continue as a starter until Maye can return in a few weeks.
With Middleton and Maye both injured, Brooks and Jamal Adams are now the only healthy safeties on New York’s roster, meaning the club will almost certainly need to add another defensive back. The Jets have two safeties on their practice squad in 2018 supplemental draft pick Brandon Bryant and 2017 selection Jeremy Clark (who is technically a cornerback but dabbled at safety during training camp), while veteran Rontez Miles is eligible to return from the physically unable to perform list.
Middleton, 25, joined the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State in 2016. After appearing in four games during his rookie season, Middleton missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign with injury (coincidentally, another torn pectoral). This season, Middleton had made four starts and played on 46.3% of the Jets’ defensive snaps and 44.6% of the club’s special teams snaps, posting 22 tackles and three passes defensed along the way. He’ll be an exclusive rights free agent in 2019.