Jets head coach Aaron Glenn had high praise this week for safety Dane Belton, who shifted between two different defensive roles during last week’s 23-10 win over the Titans as injuries hit the secondary.
Belton wasn’t the most visible name in the box score, but his ability to adjust on the fly caught his coach’s attention. Early in the first quarter, starting strong safety Minkah Fitzpatrick went down with a groin injury. Belton stepped into Fitzpatrick’s role, while Andre Cisco moved into the free safety spot. Later in the game, when nickel cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. was also injured, Belton switched again, this time into the nickel position.
Belton described the shifts as something he was prepared for even though they weren’t planned.
“It was a spur of the moment understanding that my role or responsibilities are going to change just from different plays or different personnels,” Belton said. “I wasn’t sitting there, like worried or uncomfortable. It’s something that I felt very comfortable doing, something I’ve done all my career in the league and also going back to college. I played mostly nickel in college. I played in the box a lot. It was a position I worked on in the spring and in training camp.”
Belton added that his familiarity with the defense’s structure made the transition easier.
“But obviously for that week’s preparation, that was Minkah’s role. But for me, in the back of my mind, understanding the roles of the defense, understanding different coverages and how they work, knowing all these guys really just helps me that I can really go play anywhere and I feel like I can plug and play. So it’s definitely a moment that we weren’t expecting, obviously, but something that I felt comfortable in doing and I was going to do whatever takes.”
The performance takes on added significance this week. Fitzpatrick will be sidelined for the Jets’ upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers and is expected to miss additional time beyond that, leaving the secondary to lean on its depth.
Glenn said he isn’t worried about the drop-off, pointing to the experience already on the roster.
“We have other experienced guys on our team, too,” Glenn said. “That’s the good thing about our team right now and those guys have to step up. I mean, Cisco’s played a lot of football in this league and he’s been a damn good player in this league. Dane, as we talked about, how impressed I was that he can come in and he can play basically the same role that Minkah had of being able to play the big nickel, playing safety. He’s an impressive player. Intelligent, smart, and he can take up that slack.”
With Fitzpatrick out for the foreseeable future, Belton’s versatility could prove crucial for a Jets defense trying to hold things together in the coming weeks.
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