6:45pm: The Jets have official placed Decker on the injured reserve, reports Randy Lange of NewYorkJets.com.
For what it’s worth, coach Todd Bowles said his team is prepared for the significant subtraction.
“He’s been out two weeks now,” he told Lange. “We kind of knew if he didn’t respond, he may have to go that route and the other guys have been getting reps, so it’s not as bad as it would seem to be.”
9:56am: The Jets are placing Eric Decker on injured reserve, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The team has since confirmed the news via press release.
Recently, Decker explained that treatment for his partial rotator cuff tear would come down to pain management. Instead, it turns out that he’ll need surgery to fix the tear. The surgery will likely be a season-ender, so we shouldn’t expect to see No. 87 on the field in eight weeks.
“Of course, there’s going to be pain. Everyone plays with pain. This is a physical game,” Decker told Daniel Popper of the New York Daily News recently. “So I don’t expect myself to be 100 percent at some point. It’s just getting to where it’s manageable and…I can still play the same game that I need to play.”
Decker, 29, enjoyed his best season as a Jet last year, catching 80 passes for 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns. Through three games this year, Decker has nine receptions for 194 yards and two scores.
The Jets filled Decker’s spot on the roster earlier today when they plucked cornerback Nick Marshall off of the Jaguars’ practice squad. The team also added reinforcements at receiver by claiming Jeremy Butler off waivers from the Bucs yesterday.