Things change fast in the NFL. Just ask Dee Milliner.
A year ago, Milliner was entrenched atop the Jets depth chart and telling the media he was the best cornerback in the NFL. One torn Achilles tendon and an offseason of heavy Jets spending later and Milliner's Jets future is suddenly in doubt.
"When you look at Dee coming in, you see a guy still kind of working off of an injury, trying to get himself to 100 percent," defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said last week, according to ESPN.com's Rich Cimini. "But as we looked at him, we expect Dee to compete for a position on the roster like everyone else. This was a top-10 pick, and we think he has a lot of ability and we expect him to compete."
Milliner -- now seven months removed from his injury -- was very limited in OTAs last week and is no lock to be ready for training camp. When he gets back on the field he'll be met by a full house in the secondary. The Jets signed Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine in free agency. Darrin Walls, Marcus Williams and 2014 third-round pick Dexter McDougle are also in the mix.
"It's going to be some tough decisions," Rodgers said. "It's a lot of good football players on the back end."
Cimini speculated that the Jets could place Milliner on the physically-unable-to-perform list to start the season, a move that would keep him out of action for the first six weeks of the regular season.
That's a more likely scenario that Milliner losing his job. With two years of guaranteed money left on his deal, the Jets should continue to seek return on investment for the former No. 9 overall pick.
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