New York center Nick Mangold will miss the first game of his career when the Jets take on the Oakland Raiders this weekend, coach Rex Ryan announced during his Friday press conference.
Mangold suffered a high-ankle sprain in last Sunday's win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Such an injury normally requires a couple of weeks to heal, but Ryan had been impressed with Mangold's recovery throughout the week. A speedy comeback wasn't in the cards for Mangold, however, as he did not participate in Friday's practice and won't make the team's flight to Oakland.
"He's just not ready it's as simple as that," Ryan said. "He's doing really well, but a high-ankle sprain going against these guys and traveling across country, it's not in his best interest."
Mangold currently has started 82 consecutive games for the Jets since being drafted in the first round in 2006 and likely will be replaced in the lineup by undrafted rookie Colin Baxter.
"When you played 82 straight games you're going to try to keep that going and he didn't know any different," Ryan said. "I appreciate his toughness and his courage and everything else, but at the end of the day we have to do what's right for him and the Jets and he doesn't need to be making this trip this week."
