The New York Jets have placed running back Bilal Powell on injured reserve, the team announced Wednesday morning. In a corresponding move, the Jets have signed safety Ibraheim Campbell.
Powell left in the second quarter of New York's 37-17 Week 7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a neck injury, and now he'll miss at least the next eight weeks. In most likelihood, the season is over for the soon-to-be 30-year-old, and his Jets career may be over as well as he enters free agency in 2019.
Powell is the longest-tenured player on the Jets after getting selected in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Louisville. He's 10th on the team's all-time rushing list with 3,446 rushing yards.
Powell had been splitting time with Isaiah Crowell before the injury, racking up 343 yards on 80 carries in seven games. While Powell failed to reach the end zone on the ground, he has one receiving touchdown and has caught 11 passes for 110 yards.
With Powell on the shelf, Crowell should be the feature back, though he has been dealing with a foot injury. The 25-year-old has carried the ball 81 times for 459 yards and five touchdowns. He has also caught nine passes for 69 yards. Rookie Trenton Cannon should also see more playing time, as could Elijah McGuire when he returns from injured reserve.
Campbell was recently waived by the Dallas Cowboys. He last played in an NFL game with the Cleveland Browns in 2016.
The Jets are 3-4 on the season and face two tough road games ahead, the first in Chicago and the second in Miami.