Braelon Allen didnt sugercoat importance of his Jets season after injury with simple goal in mind
Preparation for this season didn’t start in the spring for Braelon Allen.It didn’t begin when he arrived for training camp.“My approach started in October once I got off that operation table and got to work on the rehab,” the young Jets running back said Tuesday.
“I knew exactly what I needed to do.” Text with Brian Costello all season as he brings Sports+ subscribers the latest Jets intel from on the field and off.Allen didn’t sugarcoat the significance of the upcoming season.
It’s incredibly important, after appearing in only four games last year due to a major knee injury.The former fourth-round pick showed flashes as a rookie, running for 334 yards and scoring three touchdowns in 2024.But then, while returning a kickoff in a Sept.
29 game against the Dolphins, he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and missed the final 13 games.“This is huge.Obviously with last year being cut short for me, right when I felt like I was getting into a groove and getting my feet under me, it definitely sucked,” the 6-foot-1, 245-pound bruiser said.
“This year I don’t want to think too much about personal goals or anything like that, but just trying to establish myself and earn respect from my teammates and around the league.Prove myself as a workhorse back.”It was a difficult 2025 for Allen.
There was excitement about what he could be alongside Breece Hall.In training camp last August, coach Aaron Glenn felt the two had the potential to be for the Jets what the Lions had with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
Hall would be the speedster and Allen the physical downhill runner, a 1-2 punch that could wreak havoc on opposing defenses.But Allen suffered that knee injury, the most severe injury of his career.He had never been away from the sport for that long.
It was challenging, spending so much time off to the side rehabbing without his teammates.It was a helpless feeling, watching the losses pile up and not being able to help...