It has been a scary and difficult week in the Jets’ locker room after cornerback Kris Boyd was shot in Manhattan early Sunday morning and rushed to a New York City hospital in critical condition.
But an improving Boyd was able to lift the spirits of his concerned teammates from his hospital bed this week with an encouraging update on his recovery.
“He texted us in the group text and said he was good,” Jets cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers told NJ Advance Media at his locker Wednesday, right next to Boyd’s locker. “We’ve been praying for him each and every day.”
Boyd updated the world on his recovery Wednesday night with a post to Instagram.
“I’m sorry I have no words at the moment..Just grateful!” Boyd wrote on a post that included a photo of him smiling in his hospital bed. “I’m coming along, starting to breathe on my own now. Sincerely appreciate everyone!”
Boyd was upgraded to stable condition Wednesday, after Sunday’s 2 a.m. shooting outside a midtown restaurant left the 29-year-old with a bullet lodged in his lung according to multiple reports.
Police are still looking for the suspect and have shared photos of “an unidentified individual [who] discharged a firearm” and “fled on foot” asking the public to for any information as the search continues.
Video on social media of the alleged incident captured the final moments of a scuffle between several men as it spilled into the streets and two gunshots rang out, and the group scattered immediately. Two of Boyd’s teammates were with him at the time of the shooting according to ESPN: linebacker Jamien Sherwood and receiver Irv Charles. Neither was in the Jets locker room on Wednesday.
Boyd, a six-year NFL veteran who signed with the Jets as a free agent earlier this year, has yet to play a game for the team after a shoulder injury early in training camp landed him on injured reserve, ending his season.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn said he has talked with Boyd and is optimistic his recovery would go “really, really well.” Glenn would not speculate on Boyd’s football future and said their conversation was just making sure that Boyd was doing OK.
“That’s what eases my mind is that he’s in good spirits,” Glenn said. “His wife and his kid, they’re in good spirits, and he’ll walk away from this just fine.”
For Stiggers, it was great to hear from his locker mate. But he’s eager to get the chance to visit him.
“It’s definitely good to hear from him,” Stiggers said. “But to see him would be way better … to finally see him and talk to him face to face, it’ll be way better.”
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