By JOSEPH KELLARD
Jets backup quarterback Jay Fiedler was reported out for the season after he tore a labrum in his right shoulder when he was tackled while scrambling out of the pocket in a 26-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars Sept. 25. Fiedler had replaced starter Chad Pennington, who, moments earlier, was tackled and suffered a season-ending tear to his rotator cuff.
³Let¹s put it this way: As far as I know, he¹s not out for the year, I can tell you that,² said Fiedler¹s father, Ken, commenting from his Oceanside home last Thursday about the initial conflicting reports about his son¹s status. ³The injury is not season-ending.²
New York newspapers such as the Post, among other news sources, reported that Fiedler was, like Pennington, out for the season. Then Fiedler¹s agent, Brian Levy, told the Miami Herald last Wednesday, ³That¹s just not correct. He got back from Alabama Tuesday [where he saw shoulder specialist Dr. James Andrews], and he was told it would be more like three of four weeks, and five to six weeks at worst. ... Jay will be back this year, and for him it will be a chance to showcase himself for the 2006 season.²
Fiedler¹s father confirmed Levy¹s statement after speaking to his son on his return from Alabama. ³I said, ŒJay, have you spoken to [head coach] Herm Edwards or [General Manager] Terry Bradway?¹ He said, ŒNo I haven¹t spoken to them since yesterday ‹ I haven¹t had time to speak to them.¹ So I don¹t know where the reports got that he was out for the year.²
Ken Fiedler said it was determined that his son would have to rest his shoulder for a couple of weeks and then rehabilitate it. ³He¹s had injuries before,² Ken said. ³He¹s come back from them.²
Fiedler, 33, the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins from 2000 to 2004, started just seven games last season, suffering from a herniated disc that put him on the injured reserve list for the second half of the season. After Miami released him, he signed a five-year contract with the Jets in March that included a $1.3 million guarantee and a $500,000 signing bonus.
At the time, Pennington was recovering from rotator cuff surgery, and backup Quincy Carter was released. At 6 feet 2 and 225 pounds, Fiedler, a former All-County quarterback at OHS, was signed to back up Pennington.
Whether Fiedler will be named the Jets¹ starter when he returns remains in doubt. Pennington¹s injury will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks to determine definitively whether he will be out for the year. Third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who has thrown all of nine passes in his three-year NFL career, was slated to start last Sunday¹s game against the Baltimore Ravens. The Jets also resigned Vinny Testaverde, who led the team to the 1998 AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos, who won the Super Bowl that season.
³Jay is going to do the best he can to rehab and come back,² said his father.
