After surprisingly being included on the inactive list Week 1, Carl Lawson should be back in the New York Jets lineup for their Week 2 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

“Anticipating him being up this week,” coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday.

Lawson was slowed by a bad back during training camp but did not appear on the Jets injury report last week. So, it was a surprise when the starting defensive end did not play in the Jets 22-16 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills.

“With it being a short week, the time he had off with the back injury … didn’t think it would be a good idea to practice him, play a game, short week, play another game with the amount of time he had off,” Saleh explained.

“So, this will be Week 1 for him.”

It speaks to their impressive depth on the defensive line that the Jets were able to make that decision and still play extremely well on that side of the ball. The Jets sacked Bills quarterback Josh Allen five times and applied consistent pressure throughout.

Jermaine Johnson started in place of Lawson, playing 49 of 69 defensive snaps and finished with one sack, three QB pressures, and another tackle for loss. New York’s other starting defensive end, John Franklin-Myers, was a terror with eight QB pressures and one sack. First-round pick Will McDonald had a quiet NFL debut, playing 13 snaps.

Lawson started all 17 games last season after missing the 2021 season due to a torn Achilles. The 28-year-old had seven sacks and 49 QB pressures in 2022.