Hurt Jets QB Bryce Petty: 'Felt my shoulder pop out'

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New York Jets' dismal season took another bad turn Sunday, as quarterback Bryce Petty suffered a potentially serious injury to his left, non-throwing shoulder on a fluke play in a 41-3 loss to the New England Patriots.

Petty, hurt while trying to make a tackle in the second quarter, will have an MRI exam on Sunday to determine the extent of the damage. The team fears a shoulder separation.

"It was a freak deal," said Petty, his left arm in a sling. "I felt my shoulder pop out. I didn't regain any strength back in it."

Petty said he's hopeful the MRI results will show minimal damage so he can play the final game, but that seems unlikely.

"He didn't go back in the game, so I assume it's something serious," coach Todd Bowles said.

The injury could have long-term implications for the Jets. They named Petty the starter for the final four games to evaluate him for 2017, determining whether he's a viable option as a starter. That evaluation likely will be incomplete.

Petty was replaced by former starter Ryan Fitzpatrick, who likely will start the final game. Bowles didn't reveal his contingency plans, but it's either Fitzpatrick or rookie Christian Hackenberg, who has yet to be active for a game.

It was a hard-luck break for Petty, who showed his resilience by rebounding from a vicious hit in last week's blowout loss to the Dolphins. He was sandwiched by Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh, suffering what many feared would be a season-ending injury.

It turned out to be only a bruised chest, and he didn't miss any practice time.

Petty's fourth career start was brief and poor. He was injured while trying to tackle cornerback Malcolm Butler, who recovered a fumble by Khiry Robinson in the backfield.

Playing in the rain for the first time, Petty went 0-for-3, with one interception and two sacks.

"Just awful," Petty said.

"In warmups, I was throwing the ball fine, but I just couldn't keep a hold of it," he said. "The balls I did throw, they slipped out. The ones I was wanting to throw were slipping out before I was even throwing them. It was a weird deal. "You have to play in this weather. Shoot, Tom [Brady] was playing it in and doing fine."