At long last, Chris Ivory has made his practice debut with the New York Jets.
The running back, sidelined all of training camp by a lingering hamstring injury, joined teammates in 9-on-7 drills Monday in Cortland, N.Y., according to ESPNNewYork.com. Ivory got right to work, taking handoffs on the first two plays of the session.
This is a positive development for the Jets, who need Ivory to fortify the top of their depth chart at running back. If 100 percent, Ivory quickly should overtake Bilal Powell as the team's No. 1 running back.
As the Jets prepare to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 of the preseason, coach Rex Ryan told reporters he'd like to see Ivory line up for the game.
"I hope he does play Saturday," Ryan said. "He's a big powerful man. I think every Jet fan is looking forward to seeing him run."
Not all the news was good for Jets backs. Joe McKnight's bizarre training camp continued Monday morning when he dropped to one knee three times during the walk to the Jets' practice field. McKnight eventually made it to the field, but he lasted just 45 minutes into practice before being escorted to the locker room by trainers. We're not sure what's going on with McKnight, but it doesn't sound good.
Two other Jets were dealing with injuries as well. Multiple beat reporters remarked that quarterback Geno Smith -- who started practice with the first team -- was not moving well on his sprained ankle. Antonio Cromartie suffered an arm injury during practice, but he stayed in practice after being looked at by trainers. He finished the session with a sleeve on his arm.
On the plus side, wide receiver Santonio Holmes reportedlyjogged to meet with reporters. So, yeah, progress.
UPDATE: After said jog, Holmes told reporters he can't run yet. So much for progress.
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