Sauce Gardner will be out for Jets vs. Bengals

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Glenn again refused to announce who will start at quarterback for the Jets on Sunday, but he did confirm two major injury developments Friday.

Two of the team’s biggest stars — receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner — will not play against the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Wilson will miss his second game in a row because of a knee injury. Gardner is out because of a concussion.

The loss of Gardner is particularly ill-timed. The Bengals have one of the league’s most talented receiving groups, headlined by Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.

Glenn said rookie cornerback Azareye’h Thomas will have to pick up some of the slack from Gardner’s absence.

“Any time you lose a player of that caliber, it’s always concerning, because he’s one of the best in the league,” Glenn said. “But we have other guys who have to step up . . . [Thomas] is going to step up and he’s going to do a good job for us.”

The Panthers completed the game-clinching play by besting Thomas last weekend in a 13-6 victory over the Jets.

“They made a play on him; that’s the life of a corner,” said Glenn, a former Jets cornerback. “Those things happen . . . He’s not losing his confidence at all.”

Thomas, a third-round draft pick out of Florida State, said after practice, “I’ve been ready since rookie minicamp, since I first came in.”

He said of Higgins and Chase, “I’m going against two of the best in the game. Growing up, these are the games that you live for to play in. That competitive nature that my mom instilled in me still lives to this day, so I’m excited for the challenge.”

As for the quarterback situation, Glenn would not say whether Tyrod Taylor or Justin Fields will start.

Taylor was limited in practice on Friday and is listed as questionable with a knee injury, but Glenn said he is trending in a positive direction.

On Tuesday, Jets owner Woody Johnson disparaged Fields’ play. It would be a surprise if he got the nod against the Bengals, but again, Glenn would not say.

Asked if he was not naming a starter for competitive reasons or in part because of Taylor’s injury, Glenn declined to clarify the matter.

When asked if the injury plays into the uncertainty, he said, “That’s exactly why I’m not telling you — because I don’t want to.”

Pressed on the matter of the injury being a factor, he said, “That’s exactly why I’m saying it — because I don’t want to. I don’t know how many times I’ve got to answer that. It’s not going to change.”

Glenn said his players know who is starting but said, “That’s going to be between me and the players.”

He also said it was between him and the team whether the expected starter has gotten the full number of practice reps this week. Fields and Taylor have said they split reps.

Glenn said that when he was the Lions’ defensive coordinator, not knowing who the other team’s quarterback would be made preparation more difficult.

“I don’t see why we think this is something that hasn’t been done,” he said of a coach not naming a starter during the week.

Notes & quotes: Linebacker Quincy Williams, who has been out since Week 3 with a shoulder injury, is listed as questionable but expects to play. “It feels good, man,” he told Newsday of his impending return. “During those four weeks, I did learn a lot about myself, a lot about the team. Got a chance to take a step back and see the team from a big picture-type thing . . . Mentally, it felt kind of like I was in detention, because I couldn’t go out there and hang out with my boys. It felt like I was in recess. But I’m happy to be back with the team, happy to be back with the boys, happy to be back playing.”

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.