After grabbing headlines all spring, the New York Jets will scatter for a brief summer vacation before next month's training camp. Kenrick Ellis is headed somewhere else.
The second-year defensive tackle is slated to report to a Virginia jail Friday to serve a 45-day sentence.
These are unusual summer plans for a member of the Jets defense. Coach Rex Ryan didn't shy away from huddling with Ellis during this week's mandatory minicamp.
"I have conversations with a lot of our players, but obviously that's a different situation. But I definitely talked to him," Ryan told The Star-Ledger. "There are people that have gone through similar things, and I basically said, 'Lean on each other.' That's pretty much it."
Ellis' jail stay -- linked to a 2010 fight at Hampton University -- is set to end July 29, three days into New York's training camp. Ellis acknowledged his concern over staying in shape in jail.
Maybe this won't be an issue. Ryan shared an anecdote about Ellis as a rusty prospect who couldn't do a single pull-up at one stage. Now the man rocks 10 sets of 10 with a 35-pound weight attached to his body.
Said Ryan: "Now you are starting to see what I believe was there."
UPDATE:Ellis will now be able to split his jail sentence, under an agreement he struck with the court. He will report to Hampton city jail Friday night and remain in coustory until July 9, according to The Associated Press. He will then serve the rest of this 45-day sentence beginning March 1 next year. This will allow him to attend training camp.
