Chuck Clark’s Jets injury return comes with same old chip on his shoulder
On the last play of the last Jets organized team activity last spring, Chuck Clark felt some pain in his knee.
He ran off the field and figured it was just typical soreness. He spent the weekend thinking the pain would soon go away. It didn’t. He had torn his ACL, and his 2023 season was over before it even started.
“I couldn’t believe it when it did happen,” Clark said Tuesday. “I wasn’t accepting it, you know? So, I was like, ‘I’m moving around. It’s just not true.’ ”
The Jets acquired Clark in March 2023 in a trade with the Ravens.
They sent a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft to acquire the safety, who admits he came to the team with a chip on his shoulder.
Jets coaches loved what they saw of Clark last spring and were heartbroken when he went down with the injury. One source recently pointed to Clark’s injury as the first thing that went wrong for the team last year.
Clark spent the season in Florham Park rehabbing his knee and watching his teammates practice and play games, sidelined for the first time in his life.
“That was the first time in 23-plus years that I hadn’t played football in the fall time,” Clark said. “So just seeing everybody go out there and line up for games and getting the game plan and whatnot, and I was seeing it from afar, you know, watching through the windows during the workouts, I think that that was the toughest part. ”
The Jets re-signed Clark this offseason to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $1.125 million. Clark is projected to start alongside Tony Adams at safety.
Last year, Clark talked about his desire to prove people wrong after the trade from the Ravens. He said he has not lost that fire.
“I mean, I ain’t forgot about that,” Clark said. “I’ve still got that chip on my shoulder. But I think going through that injury process, it just gave me a new gratitude and gratefulness for this game. I’ve still got a lot to prove. I missed the whole year.
“People might be like, ‘Oh, he lost a step.’ Yeah, all right. Watch.”
Clark became expendable in Baltimore after the Ravens drafted Kyle Hamilton in the first round in 2022 and signed Marcus Williams in free agency. Clark’s playing time decreased, and his desire to go somewhere else increased.
The Jets are excited about what he can add to an already formidable defense.
“He looks good,” coach Robert Saleh said. “He’s worked his tail off. He’s been here every day. He didn’t have to. Even last year during the season, he didn’t have to be here to rehab, but he was here and staying connected to the team. He’s putting together a good OTA, and [we’re] excited about the trajectory at which he’s going.”
Clark was grateful that the Jets wanted him back after missing last season.
“Just in the short time that I had last year, probably I’d say six weeks to get to show what I could do,” Clark said, “It meant a lot for them to hit me back and be like, ‘Hey, man, we want you back.’ ”
Clark is ready to make the most of his second chance with the team.
“That’s the crazy thing, is like, yeah, I missed a year but you have a lot of thoughts going in your head,” Clark said. “Like, man, going into Year 7 and you tear your ACL, it’s probably one of the worst things that could happen that we think of as players.
“And it’s like, yeah, that happened, but I knocked that process down and I’m back and I’m like, all right, cool.”
