Jets' Breece Hall says he deactivated X account after receiving threatening messages while injured

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Jets running back Breece Hall said he deactivated his X account last week because he received threats on social media while he missed games because of injury.

“Since I haven’t been playing and I’ve been questionable and limited, and people not finding out I’m not playing till game day, I’ve had people like threatening me and my family on social media,” Hall said inside the Jets’ locker room on Thursday. “It’s not something that’s good for your mental health that you should be looking at.

“So I’m just like, all right, if people think it’s that serious, if you’re willing to go that low, then it’s like nothing that I need to look at.”

The Jets declined to comment on Hall’s statement that he was threatened.

Hall wouldn’t go into much detail but said he was accused of faking his quadriceps injury or told that it was just a bruised hip. He has been sidelined for the last five games.

“It’s a whole bunch of stuff, but it’s been a lot,” he said. “It is what it is.”

Hall said some of this wasn’t necessarily anything new.

“I’ve had a very much love-hate relationship with Jets fans,” he said. “That’s part of being an athlete in New York. They want you to be available, they want you to play, they want you to play very well.”

Hall is expected to return this week when the Jets play in Kansas City. He said people don’t know “how serious” his injury was. He returned to practice two weeks ago but said the quadriceps still would get inflamed, sore and stiff.

“The position I play is all me being explosive and cutting and using my quad, so there was no point in risking re-injury,” he said.

Hall indicated that the play of Braelon Allen made it easier to make sure he didn’t push it and come back too soon. Allen has performed well in Hall’s absence, rushing for a career-high 147 yards last week.

When Hall scrubbed his X account, there was speculation all over social media that he wanted to be traded, or that the Jets are going to deal him by Tuesday’s trade deadline because of Allen’s emergence.

Aaron Glenn indicated this week that the Jets don’t plan to trade Hall, who was a full participant in practice Thursday for the first time since he suffered his injury in Detroit in Week 3. It’s almost been a tradition, though, that Hall’s name comes up in trade rumors.

“If I have 100 yards, they love me. If I don’t, everybody’s like, ‘Get him out of here,’ ” Hall said. “It’s all about just worrying about what people think of you who are in the building and in your immediate circle and not worry about all the external factors.’’

Hall reportedly was close to being sent to Kansas City before last year’s trade deadline. The Jets held on to him and the two sides agreed to a three-year, $45.75 million extension in the offseason.

Allen’s play as a lead back has led to the latest round of rumors.

“Y’all been asking me this for the last three years, so it’s been the same thing,” Hall said. “I continue to play every week, show up every week and y’all can continue to ask me the same questions.”

The Jets have a very interesting situation brewing in the backfield. They have viewed Hall as the starter and a three-down back, but Allen has shown he deserves a bigger role.

Allen has rushed for more than 100 yards in three games in place of Hall and has had more than 100 scrimmage yards in the last four. When asked how he will use the two backs, Glenn said, “Both guys will play.”

Offensive coordinator Frank Reich said it will be Glenn’s call on how to use Hall and Allen and that things can change based on the flow of the game and who’s running well.

“We have certain plays that are tagged for one or the other, but it’s a great problem to have,” Reich said. “You got two No. 1 backs. Breece is obviously the bell cow. He’s our guy. But it’ll be a mix. And as far as hot hand/not hot hand, I think that’s always an in-game-feel thing.

“I know I haven’t had two guys like this, but it’s just an in-game-feel thing.”

Hall still sees himself as a starter and “a very good running back in this league.” He’s happy that Allen has shown what he can do and sounded fine with them forming a one-two punch in the backfield.

“It should have been that way from Game 1,” Hall said. “The past few weeks, everybody’s reaching their stride. Hopefully they can just insert me and I’m able to do what I do. I’m looking forward to Sunday.”

Fitzpatrick clears air

Minkah Fitzpatrick created some buzz after Sunday’s loss to the Raiders when he attributed the defeat to “some bad penalties, bad mistakes, Jets being Jets.”

There has been some debate over whether he said “Jets being Jets” or “Jets beating Jets.”

Speaking Thursday, Fitzpatrick never explicitly said he was misheard but said his teammates weren’t upset because it’s something they’ve talked about internally — that they can’t keep beating themselves.

“If you look at the context of what I said,” he said, “if you look at what I’ve been saying all season, we’ve been addressing ‘Jets not beating Jets’ or ‘Jets beating Jets.’ Everybody within this locker room knew exactly what I said, what I was trying to communicate, and in my opinion, that’s all that matters.

“The locker room knows what I said and what I meant to say, however you want to put it. I know what I said. And you guys could say there’s video or this and that. I know what I said, what I meant to say.

“Either way it doesn’t matter, because this locker room needs to focus on winning right now.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.