The Jets and Patriots are at it again.
According to a Boston Herald report, the Jets asked the NFL to sweep their Gillette Stadium locker room for bugs — aka hidden listening devices — and wanted to know whether the radio frequencies and stadium operations were performing up to standard protocol prior to last Sunday’s game against the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. The result was reportedly an “unprecedented” interrogation of three New England team employees during the second quarter of Sunday’s game.
No wrongdoing was uncovered, but the Patriots staffers had photographs taken of their employee identification badges, and their cell phones were checked, as were their radios to ensure they were using the right channels, sources told the Herald. One source said the type of interview of the personnel previously had never happened during their time working at Gillette Stadium.
WFAN’s Boomer Esiason was the first to report the issue Friday morning. The Jets declined to comment, though coach Todd Bowles seemed surprised about the report.
“I know nothing about it,” Bowles said. When asked if he is suspicious of the Patriots, he said: “No, we just go up there to play football.”
An NFL source said no sweep of the Jets’ locker room took place by the league and Brian McCarthy, the league’s vice president of communications tweeted “we have for years conducted regular [and] random checks. We do not get into details of specific games.”
Running back Stevan Ridley, signed in the offseason to add depth in the backfield, was activated from the physically-unable-to-perform list Friday afternoon, and is expected to make his Gang Green debut Sunday in Oakland against the Raiders.
Speaking before the announcement, Bowles said he would be “very comfortable” using Ridley if the team activated him. This is the second week he’s practiced fully.
Ridley was added to the 53-man roster, replacing wide receiver Chris Owusu who suffered his second concussion of the year last weekend and was waived/injured.
The 26-year-old Ridley, a former Patriot, ran for 343 yards and two touchdowns in six games last year before tearing his ACL and MCL in Week 6 against the Bills.
With Bilal Powell (sprained ankle) ruled out, Ridley should give the Jets another quality option behind starter Chris Ivory, who was held to 41 rushing yards on 17 carries while battling a hamstring issue last Sunday.
Jets cornerback Darrin Walls was fined $8,681 for diving into the legs of Patriots blocker Matthew Slater on kickoff coverage.