#Jets’ Quinnen Williams to have ‘mock practice’ before return

Before Quinnen Williams can play in a game, he has to practice. Before he practices, he will go through a “mock practice.”

The Jets’ plan for ramping up their star defensive tackle to his first taste of training camp includes a scheduled milestone Friday, when he will simulate as many reps as he will get in a typical practice, according to coach Robert Saleh.

“He’s still on track [to return] for next week,” Saleh said after Monday’s practice. “I had a great talk with him this morning. He’s in great spirits and ready to go.”

The Jets are visiting the Packers for open-to-the-public joint practices on Aug. 18-19 ahead of the second preseason game. Those dates could mark the return of Williams (foot surgery) and rookie offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker (pectoral strain).

“With AVT, he’s day-to-day, should get him back soon,” Saleh said. “We don’t have an exact date, we’re not trying to rush it, but hopefully we get him back for that Green Bay week.”

Offensive tackle Cameron Clark (spinal contusion) still is going through medical evaluations and there is no timetable for a return to action.

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The NFL trimmed the preseason from four games to three when it added a 17th regular-season game.

The old way of operating was to play starters for a big chunk in the third game and save all the snaps in the fourth game for the bottom-of-the-roster players fighting for a handful of open spots. What now?

“[Before] our third game, we have two really good practices that are going to happen versus Philadelphia,” Saleh said. “That in itself always, to me, shows a heck of a lot more than those games do. So, I’ll talk with [Eagles coach] Nick [Sirianni] when that moment comes to see how we want to handle that third game.

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RB Tevin Coleman and TE Chris Herndon are listed as the first-teamers on the Jets’ first unofficial depth chart of camp, ahead of Saturday’s game against the Giants.

Take it with a grain of salt but Coleman was ahead of La’Mical Perine (second) and Ty Johnson (third). Rookie Michael Carter was grouped on the fourth team with Josh Adams and Austin Walters.

Herndon, who has taken more second-team reps than starting reps, is ahead of Ryan Griffin (second), Tyler Kroft (third) and a group of fourth-stringers including Daniel Brown and Trevon Wesco.

Along with Corey Davis, the Jets listed veterans Keelan Cole and Jamison Crowder as starting receivers over rookie-camp sensation Elijah Moore.

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The Jets swapped young offensive linemen after Monday’s practice, cutting Teton Saltes after he injured his knee during Saturday’s scrimmage. His spot goes to waiver claim David Moore, an undrafted rookie out of Grambling State who was just cut by the Panthers.

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Expectations are high for the defensive line to make life easier for unproven cornerbacks.

“I feel pretty good about us,” Foley Fatukasi said. “But we understand we have a lot of work to be done sharpening our tools. The amount of progress we’ve made in such a short time knowing each other has been good. We understand what we want to do and where we need to go.”