Jets rookie David Bailey limps off with an ankle injury, but coach Aaron Glenn says he’ll be fine

New York Jets' David Bailey speaks to the media during an NFL football training camp Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Florham Park, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger) 2026-08-08T16:30:19Z Florham Park, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets rookie edge rusher David Bailey injured an ankle in practice Saturday, but coach Aaron Glenn said the No. 2 overall draft pick should be OK. Bailey, who’s off to an impressive start to training camp, was rushing the passer during 11-on-11 team drills when he went down. He got up slowly and walked with a slight limp as he gingerly headed to the sideline. The former Texas Tech star was looked at by trainers and jogged a few times, not appearing to be affected much by the injury. He later walked to the locker room with his teammates after practice ended. “He got up after the ankle,” Glenn said. “He’ll be fine.” Glenn didn’t want to speculate on whether Bailey might be sidelined a few days. The Jets have Sunday and Monday off from practice, so that would give Bailey some time to rest before the team begins joint sessions with Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday. “Yeah, I would say he’s day to day, but let me make sure because he got up and I think he jogged off,” Glenn said. “So I would think he’d be that.” Bailey was the highest-selected defensive player taken in the NFL draft in Jets history. After transferring to Texas Tech, he had 14 1/2 sacks last season — his combined total in three seasons at Stanford — with 52 tackles, 19 1/2 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles, all on strip sacks. He has flashed often during training camp, with multiple plays that would be sacks — there’s no contact on quarterbacks — throughout the summer. “There’s certainly plays where you’re like, ‘That’s what we thought it was going to be,’” defensive coordinator Brian Duker said Friday. “It’s good to see it. We expected that from him.” Payne sidelined a few weeks with injury Rookie safety VJ Payne, a seventh-round draft pick, will be sidelined about three to four weeks with what Glenn said is a “pretty good bone bruise.” Payne, a former standout at Kansas State, is competing for a backup safety role behind Minkah Fitzpatrick, Andre Cisco, Dane Belton and Malachi Moore. It wasn’t clear exactly where Payne was bruised, but the timeline mentioned by Glenn would suggest he could miss the entire preseason. “A player that was playing really well for us,” Glenn said of Payne. “He’s really building a role for himself, but he’ll be fine.” Glenn said edge rusher Kingsley Jonathan bruised a thigh during practice, but should be OK. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl DENNIS WASZAK JR. Waszak is an NFL writer for The Associated Press who has covered the New York Jets as the beat writer since 2006. He also is an editor on the AP’s national sports desk and has worked in AP Sports since 1996. twitter mailto