Damontae Kazee, Russell Gage avoid broken bones in Jets preseason loss

When Damontae Kazee exited tonight’s game, it looked like he’d suffered the kind of injury that might knock him out over the short-term. When Russell Gage went out, The Falcohlic staff was chattering that it might cost him a long time, possibly even the season, because apparently we like to invite bad tidings.

Happily, Dan Quinn provided some form of good news late tonight.

That news is especially significant for Damontae Kazee, who was declared questionable to return (and did not return) with a rib injury. That means no broken ribs, and hopefully a relatively short timeframe until he’s able to return. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday that Kazee’s day-to-day. He’s the team’s nickel cornerback and a critically important player, so having him ready to go for Week 1 would mean a great deal to a defense that would otherwise turn to a lesser option.

The news is positive but less conclusively so for Gage, who suffered a hip injury. Without further clarification on his injury we can’t say exactly what’s ailing him. I’m not going to speculate, but am going to hope it’s the kind of injury that can be managed with rest and care and won’t cost him a significant chunk of time. Gage has been impressive throughout the summer and was pushing for a role as a receiver, and as one of the team’s gunners he was set to be a key player on special teams. Hopefully we’ll have an update over the weekend.

There’s no such update for Kendall Sheffield, which I’m hoping isn’t ominous. He wasn’t going to have a ton of playing time out of the gate but is an intriguing cornerback that Dan Quinn seemed eager to find a role for. I wince every time I hear “hamstring” and a Falcons player in the same sentence, as we did with him.

Again, we’re light on information at the moment, but I thought I’d pass along this small bit of good news. We’ll see what DQ and company can offer us in the coming days.