Jets RB Breece Hall says he 'feels like himself' again amid recovery from ACL tear

New York Jets running back Breece Hall said Wednesday he feels like himself again coming off an ACL tear which sidelined him for 10 games during his rookie season.

“I’ll be ready when I’ll be ready,” Hall said, via NFL.com. “Honestly, I hope I’m ready [by Week 1], but you never know. I’m just taking it a week at a time and letting my knee do what it does. Everybody — myself, the coaches, my teammates — everybody wants me to be ready for Week 1, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to come back when you feel like you’re ready. So, until I feel like I’m ready, then I’ll just know.”

Hall, the Jets’ 2022 second-round selection (36th overall) out of Iowa State, showed promise before suffering the injury in the Jets’ Week 7 victory over the Denver Broncos. He rushed for 463 yards and four scores on a robust 5.8 yards per carry. Hall added 19 receptions for 218 yards and a score through the air. In the Week 6 win over the Green Bay Packers, Hall rushed for a career-high 116 yards on 20 carries.

Head coach Robert Saleh remains hopeful he’ll have Hall for the 2023 season opener against the Buffalo Bills.

“I’m very optimistic on that one,” Saleh said. “I don’t want to jinx it. [Knocks on wood] I mean, the kid’s already hitting over 22 [mph] on the GPS, so he looks frickin’ good.”

Jets hopeful to have Breece Hall by 2023 season opener

Saleh added the team will take things slow with Hall during OTAs, with the hope he’ll be closer to full strength by training camp in July.

“He looks good,” Saleh said. “Again, he’s one of those kids that we’ve had to kind of hold back from him because — it’s weird to say it, you don’t want to heal too fast on an ACL. You’ve got to be able to balance it out with strength. He looks strong. He looks powerful. He’s learning. I’m excited for him to get back on the field. I feel like he won’t need to be limited during training camp, even though we still will just to be conscientious and cautious with him, but he looks awesome.”

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whom New York acquired from the Packers last month, sure would love to have Hall in the mix in the Jets’ revamped offense. Hall said his relationship with Rodgers has grown in the short time the two have been teammates.

“He’s a jokester,” Hall said. “He’s actually really cool, really funny. Me and him actually make fun of each other a lot so it’s been cool to be around him… me and him have actually gained a really good relationship.”