BY NICK ST. DENIS
Last year, Mark Sanchez went into a midseason Monday night game against the Houston Texans without Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill.
This year, Geno Smith will get the same treatment.
Holmes is expected to miss multiple weeks with a hamstring ailment, according to Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday. Hill, meanwhile, is not expected to be recovered from a concussion by the time the Jets travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons Monday.
Through the first quarter of the season, Smith has found some vertical chemistry with both Hill and Holmes, the Jets' top two receivers. Their absence will be a major detriment to a rookie quarterback who needs all the help he can get in trying to keep pace with the high-powered Falcons.
"We still have guys who can step up and make plays," Smith said Wednesday. "We’ve got Clyde [Gates], we’ve got Jeremy [Kerley], we've got two great tight ends who can become mismatches. We’ve got to use the guys that we have."
To ease the pain, the Jets announced Wednesday morning they signed former Buffalo Bills wideout David Nelson, who amassed 189 yards and two touchdowns on 15 receptions in two games against the Jets in 2011.
He caught 61 passes that season but missed nearly all of 2012 after catching two passes and getting injured in the season-opener against, you guessed it, the Jets.
New York released receiver Ben Obomanu in a corresponding move. Smith will go into the game leaning heavily on tight end Kellen Winslow and will need the slot receiver Kerley to play the role of the top wideout.
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