Rex Ryan: It's 'possible' Santonio Holmes could miss rest of preseason

Sanchez will be a sad boy if Holmes misses the rest of the preseason. (Getty Images)

Without Santonio Holmes in the lineup, the Jets receiver depth is not particularly impressive. You have second-round rookie Stephen Hill, who seems to be legit, and then you have former Raiders castoff Chaz Schilens and Jeremy Kerley -- in whom coach Rex Ryan expressed disappointment earlier in training camp.

All of that equals cornerback Antonio Cromartie possibly being the second-best receiver in camp -- funnily enough, that’s a comment Schillens didn’t enjoy reading.

The real problem, for now, with the Jets receiving corps is that the team’s No. 1 receiver has been out, and according to Ryan, it’s possible Santonio Holmes could miss the rest of the preseason with an injury.

The problem started during an intrasquad scrimmage a couple weeks ago when Holmes suffered a rib injury. Then, before practice Wednesday, team trainer John Mellody told Ryan that Holmes was experiencing tightness in his back and couldn’t practice.

Now, nobody seems to know when Holmes will return to the field.

“I don’t know about a setback,” Ryan said, via the NY Daily News. “I know he had tightness in his back. When the trainers say it’s best to stay in to get the treatment, then that’s what you do. I’ll always follow the advice of John and our doctors.”

Right, but what about Holmes missing the entire preseason?

“Certainly it’s possible,” Ryan said. “But don’t think that will be the case.”

If he can’t return, we all know who’s ready to step in on the offensive side of the ball. That’s right: Cromartie.

"Kerley is a more of a slot receiver, he's a slot guy," Cromartie said recently. "Stephen Hill is a younger guy that can get down the field. I think, for me, I can run every single route in the route tree. I'm not going to take anything away from my ability, so when you ask me that question, I'm going to say, yes, I believe I'm one of the best receivers on the football team, next to Santonio Holmes."

As Ryan says, Holmes’ absence is certainly not ideal -- there’s certainly not much positive we can write about the injury, right? But there is one good idea for this team that might solve this problem: run the wildcat offense. Every single play.

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