Jets' Dee Milliner Still Limited; Dexter McDougle Practices
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — New York Jets cornerback Dee Milliner remained limited at practice Wednesday because of tightness in his left hamstring.
The Jets are being cautious with the second-year player, whose hamstring began to bother him a bit early last week. The organized team activities the past few weeks are voluntary, and the Jets have their final session Thursday. Mandatory minicamp begins next week, and coach Rex Ryan hopes Milliner will be ready to participate fully.
"He has been progressing along pretty good," Ryan said Wednesday. "He did not have a pulled hamstring. It was tight and we're trying to prevent a hamstring pull for him."
After an up-and-down rookie season, Milliner is being counted on to be the Jets' No. 1 cornerback, replacing the departed Antonio Cromartie.
Meanwhile, fellow cornerback Dexter McDougle, the team's third-round draft pick last month, practiced for the first time this offseason after recovering from a shoulder injury last September that cut short his final season at Maryland.
He was told by the coaches and trainers that he'd be able to participate soon. When he showed up in the locker room Wednesday, his red "no-contact" jersey had been replaced by a regular green kind.
"I've been real patient up until this point," McDougle said. "Then, when I came in here and there was a green jersey hanging up, I was just real happy. All of the guys were like, 'Oh, he's out of the red! He's out of the red!" So it was just a really good time today."
Running back Chris Johnson is still recovering from offseason knee surgery, and isn't expected to be ready to go until training camp. Ryan said it was "too early to tell" if Johnson might be able to participate at all next week in minicamp.
"I wouldn't expect much," Ryan said. "I think we'll probably err on the side of caution."
NOTES: Others who didn't participate Wednesday: WR Jeremy Kerley (personal), G Willie Colon (knee), LB Antwan Barnes (knee), WR Shaq Evans (still attending school), RB Daryl Richardson (toe) and RB Mike Goodson (knee/legal issues). Ryan said he expects Goodson to be at minicamp since it's mandatory. ... With Colon out until training camp, the Jets have tried Oday Aboushi and Brian Winters at RG the past two weeks. Winters was there Wednesday, with Aboushi playing in Winters' normal LG spot. "I've been impressed with Aboushi a little more this year already in these camps than I was at any time last year," Ryan said of the Jets' fifth-round pick last year who came out of Virginia as a tackle. ... Ryan agreed with first-rounder Calvin Pryor's comments last week during a television interview in which he said the Jets "hate" the Patriots and Giants. "Somebody in an opposite-colored jersey, you don't want to like them," Ryan said. "You respect everybody that you play against, but you don't like any of them. That's it, because they're trying to take something away from you — trying to take victory away from you."
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