Alex Lewis out vs. Raiders: Adam Gase offers little clarity on another odd situation

The strangest story of the Jets’ 2020 season appears no closer to being explained.

It’s been a week since the Jets listed guard Alex Lewis as questionable for a non-injury reason and five days since he missed New York’s Week 12 loss to the Dolphins. Adam Gase has since refused to explain Lewis’ absence and continued to keep everything a secret when asked on Friday.

To summarize: Lewis won’t play again vs. the Raiders, is not dealing with an injury and is not being disciplined. His roster spot is not in jeopardy, he hasn’t spoken to Gase in 24 hours and Gase “couldn’t answer” if Lewis will be available in the future. Lewis is, however, attending virtual meetings.

Come again?

This is classic Gase. He’s touting the same mantra of handling team decisions in-house with Lewis as he did with past confrontations with Le’Veon Bell, Jamal Adams and Kelechi Osemele. This one is especially confusing, though, since no one but Gase seemingly understands why Lewis is being reprimanded, including players like fellow guard Greg Van Roten.

It’s especially strange considering Lewis was one of the biggest supporters of Gase this past summer. Lewis said he had “mad respect for coach Gase” and that Gase was “building a winning culture” in New York. That last part obviously wasn’t true.

To make matters worse, Lewis’ replacement, Pat Elflein, struggled against the Dolphins and has been limited in practice this week with a shoulder injury, per SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano.

Gase said he will be able to talk more about Lewis’ situation once the organization comes to a “resolution,” but there’s no telling when exactly that will be or what that even means.