Jets nose tackle Ellis out 4-6 weeks with knee injury

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets nose tackle Kenrick Ellis will be sidelined four to six weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Coach Rex Ryan confirms Thursday that the backup lineman will miss at least a month after being injured in the Jets' 23-17 loss to Houston on Monday night. Ellis was filling in for starter Sione Po'uha, sidelined with a sore lower back.

Ryan says safety Eric Smith will miss New York's game Sunday against Indianapolis after he sprained a knee during "a scary moment" in practice Wednesday while trying to knock down a pass. Tests revealed the sprain, and Ryan was relieved it wasn't worse.

Ryan is hopeful center Nick Mangold (ankle), tight end Dustin Keller (hamstring) and wide receiver Stephen Hill (hamstring) will play Sunday.

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Jets DT Kenrick Ellis reaches plea agreement, will serve 45 days in jail

Posted: 05:01 PM ET May 21, 2012

By Ryan Wilson | NFL Blogger

Ellis avoids deportation with plea agreement. (Getty Images) After reaching a plea agreement last week, Jets backup nose tackle Kenrick Ellis is headed to jail for 45 days following the team's minicamp that ends June 14, several outlets are reporting. The 2011 third-round pick out of Hampton University was originally arrested on felony assault charges in April 2010 while he was still in school.

Ellis isn't a United States citizen (he was born in Jamaica and moved to the U.S. at age 11), but he holds "permanent resident" status. As such, a permanent resident can be deported if convicted of aggravated felony. To avoid this, Ellis reached an agreement to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery. He was sentenced Monday to 179 days in prison, with 89 days suspended and two years supervised probation, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Richi Cimini.

Ellis' attorney told Cimini that, based on Virginia law, his client will serve 45 days with good behavior. And based on the timing of the sentence, Ellis won't miss OTAs or minicamp, which starts for the Jets on July 26. The attorney adds that his client is "anxious to get this behind him. ... He wants to get on with his career with the New York Jets. This (plea deal) is a fair compromise, and it protects his ability to do that."

As for any league-mandated sanctions, an NFL spokesman told the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta that the league will review the court records to determine if there will be any subsequent punishments.

Before the 2011 NFL Draft, at least one NFL general manager admitted that he shied away from Ellis because of the pending legal issues. "That was big for us," the GM told Cimini at the time. "It's a pain in the tail, the whole legal issue."

Clearly, this wasn't a problem for Jets coach Rex Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who had previously dealt with Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Antonio Cromartie, players who arrived in New York with baggage from previous stops in their NFL journeys. In fact, the team said it was comfortable with the risk of taking Ellis after doing its due diligence.

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Tags: Antonio Cromartie, Kenrick Ellis, Santonio Holmes, Ryan Wilson, New York Jets, NFL

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