Their absence was obvious. The reason behind it, however, remained a mystery during and after the game.
Both defensive linemen spent the entire first quarter on the sideline, but their lack of playing time had nothing to do with injuries.
“That was a coach’s decision,” Todd Bowles said after the Jets’ 27-23 loss to the Dolphins when asked why Wilkerson and Richardson did not enter Sunday’s game until the start of the second quarter.
Asked if it was disciplinary, Bowles repeated: “It was a coach’s decision.”
Wilkerson — who was benched last year by Bowles during the first quarter of their Week 13 game against the Giants — quickly walked past reporters as he tried to locate an exit out of the visitors’ locker room.