National Football League

Jets say suspended CB Dimitri Patterson can return for regular season

Published Aug. 26, 2014 7:43 p.m. ET

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Dimitri Patterson's suspension will last a few more days.

The New York Jets announced Tuesday night that the veteran cornerback who went AWOL for 48 hours last weekend will sit out for the rest of the week, including the preseason finale at Philadelphia on Thursday night but is eligible to return to the team next Monday.

The team also said that additional terms of discipline would not be disclosed. Patterson is likely facing a team-imposed fine.

Patterson had been suspended indefinitely on Monday after he left the team last Friday night before the Jets' preseason game against the Giants without speaking to anyone in the organization. General manager John Idzik said the team wanted to gather facts before determining how Patterson would be further disciplined.

The Jets wouldn't provide details on the reason Patterson gave for what the team called an "unexcused" absence.

Earlier Tuesday, coach Rex Ryan said he didn't anticipate a resolution to the situation in the next few days, and also didn't have any additional updates.

Patterson, who signed a one-year, $3 million deal in April, might still face an uncertain future with the Jets, particularly after teams make their final roster cuts Saturday. Ryan wouldn't speculate as to whether the Jets could release Patterson before the regular season.

"We're not going to comment on what may or may not take place," Ryan said. "We know what the situation is now and we're moving forward. We're going to coach the guys that are here and that's what we're doing."

Patterson was at meetings, a walkthrough and the pregame meal last Friday, but didn't show for the preseason game later that night at MetLife Stadium. He gave the Jets no warning he would leave the team, and didn't speak to anyone in the organization directly until he met with Ryan and Idzik on Sunday night at the training facility.

Idzik said Monday that Patterson's suspension would be "brief," but the 31-year-old cornerback would face more discipline once the team had finished looking into the matter.

Patterson was not at practice Monday or Tuesday.

"I really don't know what to say about that," quarterback Geno Smith said of Patterson's situation. "I just hope he's fine, hope he's OK. As a teammate, as a friend, I want to support him. Obviously, coaches are going to make their decisions on what they think is best for the team. We stand behind that."

Patterson had been projected as a starter for the regular season, but has been hampered most of the summer by ankle, calf and quadriceps injuries so he has played only in the preseason opener against Indianapolis -- and struggled.

The Jets expected Patterson to test out his leg during pregame warmups last Friday night, and would then determine whether he would play. Ryan acknowledged Patterson wasn't going to start the game, but could have entered with the first-team defense at some point.

When asked if the absence might have stemmed from being upset about not starting, Ryan again refused to speculate.

Even before Patterson's puzzling absence, the Jets faced a shaky situation at the cornerback position. Dee Milliner, expected to be the team's top cover man in his second season, is still recovering from a high ankle sprain that has his status for the regular-season opener in doubt. Third-round draft pick Dexter McDougle is out for the year with a torn knee ligament. Safety-turned-cornerback Antonio Allen is working his way back from a concussion.

Backup Darrin Walls, who could end up starting in Week 1, has a leg ailment but Ryan said "it's not a major issue."

That leaves Kyle Wilson, Ellis Lankster, LeQuan Lewis and Johnny Patrick as the Jets' top healthy cornerbacks. Ryan laughed when asked if he had ever been in a more dire situation in the secondary.

"Guys, I coached at New Mexico Highlands," he joked. "I coached in Vegas, New Mexico. But, you know what? It's like anything else. Sometimes, an opportunity presents itself that maybe normally wouldn't. You end up finding a diamond in the rough, so to speak."

NOTES: WR Stephen Hill pushed through practice despite vomiting on the field, Ryan said. He sat out Sunday with an illness and was sent home Monday after he vomited. Hill has been the subject of trade rumors because of his inability to be consistent on the field. When asked about an ESPN report that said the Jets looked into dealing Hill this summer, Ryan shrugged. "Well, I didn't try to trade him," he said. "I can comment on me. Again, a lot of times with anything, you'll listen to whatever things are thrown out there. This is the first I've heard of it, though." ... QBs coach David Lee said third-stringer Matt Simms has "improved as much as any guy I think I can ever remember coaching."