Jets rookie Olu Fashanu will fill in for injured lineman Morgan Moses

New York Jets right tackle Morgan Moses will be sidelined “a couple games” with a knee injury, coach Robert Saleh announced Wednesday.

The 33-year-old Moses hurt his left knee on the final play of the third quarter last Thursday night in the Jets’ 24-3 win over the New England Patriots. First-round draft pick Olu Fashanu will fill in for Moses and make his first NFL start Sunday against Denver.

It’s a significant loss for New York’s offensive line, which played well in the first two games, but Moses is expected to return in a few weeks after tests determined it wasn’t as severe as some initially feared.

“He’s going to be a couple games,” Saleh said, “but obviously not enough to put him on IR.”

Saleh wouldn’t specify the nature of Moses’ injury, saying: “He’s just dealing with a knee.” Moses was seen in the Jets’ locker room before practice with a bulky brace on his left knee.

He would have been forced to sit out at least four games if the Jets placed him on injured reserve. The veteran was acquired by New York from Baltimore in March in a trade that included draft picks, with the Jets also getting a fourth-rounder in exchange for a fourth- and sixth-rounder.

It’s Moses’ second stint with the Jets after also playing for New York in 2021.

Fashanu, the 11th overall pick, came in for Moses against New England and played the fourth quarter. He was drafted as a left tackle out of Penn State, but the Jets signed Tyron Smith in the offseason. Fashanu was expected to sit as a rookie behind Smith, but he got some work at right tackle during training camp.

“We’ve got a lot of faith in Olu to go out and execute,” Saleh said.

Fashanu played only left tackle in college, so learning how to play on the right side took some getting used to.

“I’m pretty comfortable,” Fashanu said. “It’s been something I’ve been working on ever since the draft training in February, and worked on it during OTAs and training camp. I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot right now.”

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been impressed with Fashanu’s maturity as a rookie and overall abilities.

“I don’t like to do a lot of comparisons, but I will in this case. From the beginning, I felt like he reminded me a lot of D’Brickashaw (Ferguson), personality-wise and just the consistency,” Rodgers said, referring to the former Jets left tackle who played all but one snap in his 10 seasons in New York.

“Obviously, I didn’t play with Brick, but I know people that did and I watched him from afar,” he added. “And I always felt like he was just so consistent week in and week out. …

“It’s just never been too big for Olu. I feel like he’s been consistent every day.”

Mosley sidelined

Saleh said linebacker C.J. Mosley would sit out practice Wednesday and could be a game-time decision again Sunday.

Mosley injured a toe in the Jets’ win at Tennessee on Sept. 15 and sat out against New England.

“We’ll see how things go, but we were planning on giving him so vet days, anyway,” Saleh said. “We’re going to, I don’t want to say overly cautious, but we’ll just make sure that this toe doesn’t become a problem.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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